BusinessDay 16 Aug 2020

UNILAG VC’s removal: Intrigues, controversy threaten varsity’s stability

What visiting investors, business tycoons will not fail to see in Akwa Ibom

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Buhari administration should not mortgage Nigeria - Okafor 20

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Pay TV: How competition will break ‘monopoly’

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INEC’s cost estimate yet unknown days to Edo, Ondo guber polls Says Covid-19 heavily impacts on activities Current pandemic a unique opportunity for INEC to innovate - Analysts See page 2

Style temple

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At home with nature at Afi Mountain Sanctuary

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Citizenship by Investment: From a luxury to a necessity

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Joseph Akinlaja (l), chairman, Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) Ondo State chapter, presents Agboola Ajayi (r), deputy governor, to party members after Ajayi formally joined ZIP on the platform of which he has declared to contest the October 10, 2020 gubernatorial election in the state. The rally took place at the weekend.

Vol 1, No. 323

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Cardiac arrest may be more common in Nigeria than previously thought – experts country records alarming rate of sudden deaths ANTHONIA OBOKOH

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he rate at which many Nigerians drop dead nowadays has become very alarming, raising serious concern among health experts.

Although, deaths attributable to cardiac arrests are not new in the country, they are said to have become too frequent these days. Cardiologists have expressed worry that cardiac arrest-related deaths among Nigerians may be more common than previously thought.

In recent times, particularly since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, unexplainable deaths have continued to occur. It has been observed that cardiac arrest has continuously become a noticeable cause of medical concern, whereby people who appear physically healthy, suddenly slump and die.

Cardiac arrest became a big issue in Nigeria a few years ago when Moshood Kashimawo Abiola and a former Head of State, Sani Abacha , suddenly died of cardiac arrest in quick succession. Since the 1980’s, many other Nigerians have also died of the similar cases.

A number of politicians and businessmen have been reported dead recently. They slumped and

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INEC’s cost estimate yet unknown days to Edo, Ondo guber polls INIOBONG IWOK

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hirty-four days to the gubernatorial election in Edo State and 55 to the same exercise in Ondo State, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is unwilling to disclose to the public, an estimate of what it hopes to spend to conduct the exercises.

Although Festus Okoye, INEC’s national commissioner and chairman of Information and Voter Education, in an exclusive interview with BDSUNDAY, noted that some costs would likely drop following the observance of Covid-19 protocols, he was not willing to put a figure to the question.

Political watchers are of the view that the recent outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic presents INEC with a unique opportunity to devise strategies and innovative ways of conducting elections in view of the peculiarity of the period and expected drop in government revenue and spending.

Speaking on the peculiarity of conducting election in a Covid-19 era, Okoye said the commission had devised strategies on how to respond to the effects of the pandemic on the electoral process and the impending cut in government spending, stressing that a large number of manpower would be needed to conduct a successful election this period.

He said that the commission was taking extra precautions in the conduct of election during this period, noting that the commission would print and deliver ballot papers, result sheets and deploy these materials taking into consideration the Covid-19 protocols.

“Things are still evolving in

Mahmood

relation to the cost of conducting elections during this difficult circumstance. In our policy document on conducting elections in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, we made it clear that the broad objective of the policy is to prepare the commission to respond to the effects on the electoral process of the twin challenges of Covid-19 pandemic and looming cuts in government spending and to communicate same to stakeholders,” he said.

According to him, “the commission will provide facemasks for all election officials. It must provide hand sanitisers for all the polling units. It must provide methylated spirit for the Smart Card Readers.

“The commission is also providing infrared thermometers for

all the collation centres and is in discussion with the presidential task force on Covid-19 in relation to the provision of thermometers at the polling units”.

The National commissioner further said that in line with the protocols, “we have to observe social distancing in terms of number of buses we hire and other things we do.”

“On the other hand, there are certain things that we can no longer do physically. For instance, some of our meetings are now done virtually, in which case, if we are saving the cost of air transportation and hotel bills, these costs are now ploughed back into providing pharmaceutical interventions, robust media engagements, sensitisation and deepening of technology in this particular election. But in all, I

must say that Covid-19 has created challenges for us and has jerked up, just a little bit, the cost of conducting elections,” he said.

Some commentators, who spoke with BDSUNDAY, believed that INEC should make elections in Nigeria less expensive. They also expressed the view that the Edo and Ondo gubernatorial elections needed not to be very costly, as the Commission could carry out some of the assignments virtually. They also said that the Covid-19 afforded INEC a great opportunity to go electronically in the conduct and eventual computation of election results in Nigeria.

A chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and former candidate for the House of Representatives in the 2019 election, Kunle Okunola said with the outbreak of Covid-19, he expected INEC to adopt innovative strategies to conduct election across the country, saying it was obvious that the commission was wasting fund unnecessarily.

Okunola advised INEC to adopt electronic voting to reduce the burden of contesting elections on candidates in the country. He further stressed that electronic voting and tabulation of results were long overdue in Nigeria.

According to him, in view of the outbreak of Covid-19 where a lot of things are now done virtually, I believe that their cost should drop this period, though the electoral body has stipulated duration to conduct elections according to the constitution.

“But if INEC is really serious they should go digital with the conduct of elections in Nigeria, so that this election would not be easily compromised.”

“INEC should be proactive; until now nobody knew Covid-19 was coming. They should

move from this manual system to electronic; if ordinary market women can have social media on their phone where they chat and relate with people, why can’t INEC have an App where people can easily register to vote.

“When you have such an application in your phone it would be inscribed into your number and you can vote,” he added.

Okunola believed that if technology could be used to produce food and others, INEC could as well use it to improve the nation’s electoral system.

“Why do you want to continue rigging people out? All this is endangering people’s lives; you have to be declaring public holiday for election, the government and the people would be losing money,” he pointed out.

The politician further tasked the Commission, saying, “we should make it cheaper; you have to pay for agents all over the place, imagine the cost. That is why our election is so expensive and it is only millionaires and those who can cut corners that can contest in Nigeria.

“We have a lot of young people who are not voting; they don’t want to stress themselves and endanger their lives to vote.

Electronic voting would solve a lot of things. Whatever the process, it should be for the interest of Nigerians and Nigeria.”

Recall that in 2019, Nigeria’s National Assembly budgeted N242 billion for the conduct of the nation’s general election.

The amount had elicited criticism among stakeholders in the country, who said it was one of the highest in the world.

It was believed that spending such a huge amount of money on a general election was not justifiable considering the huge socio-economic challenges the country is grappling with at the moment.

opera’s comprehensive new offering which is becoming easier.

The company explained that the partnership with ‘Google my business’ was for easier onboarding of SMEs into Google search and maps”.

According to the statement, “Google my business is a scalable tool that helps businesses and organisations manage their

online presence across Google properties, including Google search and maps.

“If you add your information and verify it in your business profile on Google search and Google maps. If you add your information and verify it in your business profile on Google you cannot help customers find your business and tell your story”.

Opera launches opera for SMEs …Announces new partnership with Goggle INIOBONG IWOK

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pera , one of the world’s major browser providers and leader in the world in Al-driven content delivery, is extending its service to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria.

The new offering is expected to help 40 million SMEs in Nigeria improve their online presence.

In a statement to journalist weekend the company said it had earlier launched Oleads, a lead generation platform, and Olist, an online marketplace for local merchants and businesses, stressing that entrepreneurs were already on board and remain

active on these platforms, which allow them an online presence and connect with growing internet user base in the country.

The statement further stated that with an internet penetration rate roughly of 47percent in Nigeria, the internet is a perfect space of Nigerian business to grow and connect with customers across the customers today with

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Stakeholders seek improved funding for nutrition in Kaduna ...Move to achieve 2020 fiscal year targets Abdulwaheed Olayinka Adubi, Kaduna

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orried by the malnutrition situation, partners and relevant stakeholders in Kaduna State are seeking a way forward to ensuring adequate funding, timely releases and cash backing of nutrition funds in the state by the government.

The stakeholders have also developed a MultiSectoral Strategic Plan of Action for Nutrition, KDMSPAN 2020-2024, as part of the strategy to address

the scourge of malnutrition in the state.

According to the Director, Development Aid Coordination Kaduna State Planning and Budget Commission, Malam Salisu Baba Lawal, and other stakeholders, the strategic plan is to serve as a tool to implement nutrition activities by line Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), with effect from the 2020 approved budget with a resolve to achieve the 2020 fiscal year targets.

This was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of a 2-day review and pre-budget meeting on allocation, release and utilisation of nutrition budget with key stakeholders from the

legislature and Nutrition line ministries in Kaduna State yesterday.

The Communiqué which was signed by the Director, Development Aid Coordination Kaduna State Planning and Budget Commission,

Malam Salisu Baba Lawal and three other stakeholders, noted that holding regular meetings were therefore, crucial in line with good practices to plan and measure the performance of the MDAs. According to the com-

muniqué issued, the meeting was organised for stakeholders to ascertain the level of nutrition investment and budget performance in Kaduna State, to understand the current malnutrition situation, and for stakeholders to secure state commitments on increased domestic investment in high-impact, low-cost interventions as captured in the state specific plans of actions in the 2020 annual budget, and develop key advocacy tasks for 2021.

The stakeholders, who tasked Kaduna government on improved funding, observed that Kaduna State had recorded an impressive budget performance in the health sector in 2019, with 96per-

cent budget performance compared to the 30percent recorded in 2018.

“Partners’ support have played major role in supporting the state to improve the nutrition situation,” it was observed.

The participants however, observed that the NDHS 2018 placed Kaduna State in the 9th position among states with high burden of stunted children at 48.1percent, higher than the national rate of 37percent.

Accordingtothem,“There is the problem of cultural and religious misconceptions around early initiation of breastfeeding, exclusive breastfeeding, and minimum dietary diversification.

IYD: Paradigm Initiative calls for policies that ensure access to improved livelihoods Desmond Okon

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L-R: Edith Emenimadu, Phillip Emenimadu, Ashadi Blessing Emenimadu, Tare Emenimadu, Florence Wakwe (nee Emenimadu) during the conferment of chieftaincy title on Chief Ashadi Blessing Emenimadu at Ogume, Delta State, recently.

FITC essay challenge to reward innovative African undergraduates Ifeoma Okeke

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inancial Institution Training Company (FITC), the worldclass, innovationled and technology-driven knowledge organisation that provides learning, advisory and research services to Financial Institutions and other sectors in Africa, has launched the FITC Youth Connect Initiative.

The initiative focuses on youth empowerment, employability and supports youth-led innovation in Africa. To herald this, the organisation is launching the maiden edition of its essay competition for undergraduates in higher institutions of learning across Africa.

Tagged ‘Youth Connect

Es s a y Ch a l l e n g e , ’ t h e competition seeks to promote creative talents and spur innovative thinking among young people in Africa. It focuses on the theme, ‘Accelerating Growth and Development in Africa: the Role of Technology and Innovation’.

Chizor Malize, CEO of FITC in a statement explained that given the wealth of talents and resources in Africa, there is an explosive opportunity for growth and development because it is no gainsaying that Africa needs to embrace technology to realize the Af r i c a n Un i o n ’s 2 0 6 3 Transformation Agenda and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Malize noted that technology plays a crucial role and its adoption will

accelerate economic growth and development on the continent. “The realities of modern civilisation have shown that technology can speed up significant improvements in the social and political conditions of nations, and can be a vehicle for innovative solutions to local challenges.”

“Africa is now the world’s second-fastest-growing continent. Its fast-growing youth population presents exciting opportunities for economic growth and sustainable development.

With the bolstering number of innovation hubs, tech solutions, tech ventures and tech venture-builders, as well as investors in technology infrastructure, the continent can bank on its emergent tech landscape for exponential growth,” he said.

According to him, the young tech community can help decision-makers to implement workable technology solutions from country to country.

“To support this drive and to ensure youth’s participation in the transformation of the continent, FITC is investing in the future through the Yo u t h C o n n e c t Es s a y Challenge. This challenge is to awaken the well of ideas in young Africans and set their mind on the right course as it concerns the use of technology for growth,” he stated.

Malize, who disclosed that entries will be judged on originality, creativity, and appropriateness to the theme and context, said its open to all undergraduates studying in any tertiary institution across Africa.

s youths around the world to mark the International Youth Day (IYD), Paradigm Initiative (PIN) calls for policies that will ensure that social safety nets are afforded to youths to ensure they are able to get access to improved livelihoods and to be able to actively engage in any global action.

This year’s commemoration comes at a time when the world is battling against the Covid-19 pandemic and the effects are adverse on vulnerable youths such as refugees, those in rural areas, migrants and more so, youths in the informal sector who live from hand to mouth due to high level of unemployment in many African countries.

According to the UN/ DESA Policy Brief number 67: Protecting and mobilising youth in Covid-19 responses; young people are particularly vulnerable to the disruptions caused by the pandemic.

PIN, a social enterprise that builds an ICT-enabled support system to improve livelihoods for under-served youth, said more than one in five (22.4 percent) young people aged 15–24 are neither in employment, education or training.

The organisation in a statement to BDSUNDAY, urged African states to provide youths with equal opportunities for education and employment.

“As we pay tribute to the youths in our communities,

we urge African states to continue to take strides to ensure the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 4, which urges states to increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship in ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promotion of lifelong learning opportunities for all,” the organisation said.

It added that it is committed to empowering young people with skills that capacitate them to serve their communities and to improve their livelihoods.

It also said states should ensure that youths have access to the internet in keeping with Principle 37(2) of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa.

The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights provides that states shall recognise that universal, equitable, affordable and meaningful access to the internet is necessary for the realisation of freedom of expression, access to information and the exercise of other human rights.

The International Youth Day was endorsed in 1999 by the General Assembly after a recommendation by the World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth. This year’s celebration is focused on ‘Youth Engagement for Global Action.’

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Bliss with Nonye Ben-Nwankwo

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Email: chiwuagwu@yahoo.com Phone number (sms only) 08057511893

Why I was off music scene for four years - Darey

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ong writer and artiste, Darey Art Alade who has been off the music scene for some time has said he has been doing some other things related to music all these years.

In a chat with Bliss recently, Darey, who is set to release a single Jah Guide Me, explained the reason for the hiatus.

“I never really left! I’ve been on the scene performing and hosting events extensively. The only thing is that I did not release new music although I have been recording on and off in the studios over the last couple of years.”

And even as he has been away, Darey said he is sure that he is still in the hearts of all his fans.

“I have had fans bombard me with tweets and messages across my social media pages asking incessantly for new music. From Livespot X featuring Cardi B and all the strategic PR buzz we generated not just for ourselves but for the entire nation and continent

to the work I have done on Born In Africa Festival, Access The Stars and several other platforms, I believe I have managed to remain visible albeit without new music.”

Talking about his latest single, Darey said the song represents a return to what he loves best - creating and telling compelling stories that resonate with every-

one.

“The song comes at a critical period in our collective humanity where we have been reminded of just how fleeting life is and how supplication, prayer, spirituality and the belief in a higher power often sees us constantly seeking guidance as we try to navigate these tough times. I play in the pensive territory and

bring a strong message of hope. The song means a lot to me as I, just like millions around the world, have been affected directly by not just the pandemic but the snowball effect it’s had on businesses and the global economy.”

When asked if he leveraged on the current pandemic to dish out a song, Darey said, “Nigeria is a very tough place to survive in.

A lot of our people are suffering and live in extremely rough conditions. The global pandemic has exposed these facts and I simply pray that my music can inspire hope and remind us all that man is not God. We must prevail against all odds.”

And now that he is back, the multiple award winning artiste said he is back to stay for good.

“I never planned to stay that long away from releasing new music. I simply needed to focus on building other aspects of my brand.

I hope to continue sharing my God-given talent for as long as possible!”

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said, Eric countered her saying, “We distracted each other.”

Eric said he was initially looking forward to continuing his relationship with her, but on hearing what Lilo had said about her relationship with him, he said he was shocked but not surprised, and added that he respected her decision to go back to her boyfriend.

He added, “My relationship with Lilo was not an act or any kind of strategy.

But then, we distracted each other.”

Talking about the other housemates, Eric said he believes Erica is playing a game with the Laycon/ Kiddwaya love triangle and that Nengi’s behaviour in the house is a part of her strategy.

“But in all, I would like Neo to win because he’s a great guy and a good friend.

I have no hard feelings being evicted. I will get back into fitness, develop an athletic apparel brand, launch a charity foundation, and go back to school to complete my Bachelor’s degree.”

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fy Adenuga, mother of the British born pop artiste, Skepta, is all set to release a new book titled Endless Fortune.

The book, which is the writer’s memoir, tells the story of how she migrated to the UK and life living in the Diaspora.

According to Adenuga, Endless Fortune is a timely addition to the ongoing conversation around migration politics and immigration in the UK. The book explores the chasm between Lagos and London and how to not only survive but thrive in a new culture and country.

On the inspiration behind

thismemoir,Ifysaid,“Mylife’s journey to date has been a struggle to assert my own definitions of freedom and happiness whilst also living life through my cultural and traditional lens as a Black African Christian woman migrant in the UK. With this book, I have two objectives: First, is to utilise an opportunity I missed with my parents by informing my children and subsequent grandchildren about my life growing up and how different it is to theirs.

Second, is to recognise and appreciate all Diasporas, regardless of where they call home. It is important to me that migrants understand that survival and success are attainable.”

Ifeomagwu “Ify” Adenuga is married to Joseph Senior Adenuga and mother of Joseph Junior (Skepta), Jamie (JME), Julie and Jason Adenuga.

After moving to London from Lagos in 1980, she went on to receive a BA (Hons) in Education & Film studies. In 2016, she received recognition as an ICON at C. Hub magazine’s prestigious Creativity and Arts Awards which recognises excellence in creativity, leadership and entrepreneurship.

Experts harp on restructuring of loans to benefit women

BBN: Lilo and I distracted each other - Eric

he ongoing Big Brother Naija reality show is getting more exciting and intriguing as the housemates are being evicted.

And just as he has left, Eric has said he and his love interest in the house, Lilo, actually distracted each other.

Recall that Lilo was among the evicted housemates penultimate Sunday and she had said Eric distracted her from focusing on the game.

Reacting to what Lilo

Skepta’s mother set to release new book

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PayPorte unveils Chef Chioma as Brand Ambassador

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ayPorte, Africa’s leading online and in-store fashion for women, has unveiled Chioma Avril Rowland, popularly known as Chef Chi as brand ambassador.

Over the years, the founder and the CEO of PayPorte, Eyo Bassey has been able to nibble the brand’s name into the hearts of its loyal customers through efficient service delivery, consistency, detailing, quality and affordability of women fashion such as chic dresses, jeans, skirts, shoes, bodysuits and more.

Since its berth on September 25, 2014, the PayPorte family has not only been strategic in their ambassadorial journey but has also

been specific on ensuring that the company’s values and customers’ interest are a top priority in their service and campaign deliveries.

Thus, the brand couldn’t have gone for a better option than the young, vibrant, super mother of one and pretty much the hardest worker in her room, Chef Chioma, as its latest ambassador.

This is also to commemorate the brand’s 6th anniversary come September, 2020; a pertinent landmark that many similar brands didn’t survive to attain. Therefore, it is going to be a well-deserved celebration and of course an intentional-refueled effort to ensure even better service delivery and customer/seller relationship.

xperts have called for the restructuring of loan facilities in Nigeria, to alleviate the adverse effects of some government policies on women, who own micro-businesses with cash flow problems.

They noted that a significant number of women are still financially excluded, as they generally earn less than men, and as a result, are closer to the poverty line, adding that the COVID-19 pandemic has further worsened the situation.

They made the assertion during a recent webinar on: “The Impact of COVID-19 on Women at the Bottom of The Pyramid,” while urging the government and private sector to enable lowincome women to survive and thrive now and postpandemic.

Founder and former Managing Director, Lift Above Poverty Organisation (LAPO) Microfinance Bank Limited, Godwin Ehigiamusoe, said the restructuring of loans with emphasis on disadvantaged women was needed in the country.

He cited mid-term loans

offered to small business owners, which he said is a financial product that had been used by LAPO Microfinance Bank to help such business owners with cash flow problems.

He also called for open conversation between government agencies and the most vulnerable women, to help them understand the specific challenges faced by these women.

Women’s Rights Advocate and the Secretary-General of Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA), Saudatu Mahdi, stressed the need for a national database of women in the lowest economic strata, which she said would give financial agencies a clearer understanding of where these services are needed most, and how they could be made available.

Also, Women Health Activist, and the first Nigerian elected as President of the Medical Women International Association, Dr. Eleanor Nwadinobi, sought “unfettered access to decent credit” for women.

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COVID-19: ‘Prolonged school closure could affect children’s mental health’ Godsgift Onyedinefu, Abuja

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rolonged school closure, online learning and the absence of social interactions could have an impact on the mental health of children, Golda Obi, founder, Strauss Preparatory School, Abuja, has said.

While the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has forced schools to resort to online learning methods, Obi stressed that social interaction is very important for the mental health of children, and they should not be made to stay locked up for a long time.

“Sometimes, we don’t realise that the mental health

of children count because they are not expressive with that, but it does count. And we must take their mental health into consideration, and in my opinion, they can’t stay locked up indefinitely and just stare at their computers,” she said.

She said Strauss School, if the federal government permits, is making plans to have group meetings with its pupils to enable them interact socially.

Obi, who stated this during the graduation of nursery 3 pupils into year one on Friday in Abuja, described the graduation ceremony as extra special, because the graduands are the first set to adopt the full French immersion programme.

“This set of children that graduated today went through three years of an exclusive French programme. Every single subject in the early years curriculum was taught in French and that was amazing; amazing because we were following the standard British curriculum while delivering it in a foreign language,” Obi said.

“So, these kids you see here today, by the time they are getting out of school, they are going to be fully bilingual in French and English.

“The pupil who delivered a fantastic speech today in French, when he joined this school at age two, he couldn’t speak French. But now, he can learn, read, and write in

French. So, I am ecstatic to see that with the hard work we put into these children, they came out topnotch.”

She further explained that the essence of the bilingual learning is to expand the opportunities of the pupils after school and enable them fit in anywhere.

“Now, I don’t know if everyone is aware of AfCFTA (the African Continental Free Trade Area) that has come up. When you look at English countries in West Africa, we are a little bit in isolation.

There are more counties in Africa that speak French.

At least, in ECOWAS for instance, we are just about five English-speaking nations and nine French-speaking. So, it is a no brainer.

Under 40 CEOs marks five years of inspiring young African entrepreneurs HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE

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nder 40 CEOs, Africa’s leading business platform for young business leaders and aspiring entrepreneurs, is celebrating five years of impact. Since its launch in 2015, the platform has fostered an active community of young people who are leading the transformation of African economies. It is also nurturing the next generation of trailblazers and change drivers.

Over 100 episodes of media content—featuring

inspiring stories of young business leaders from East, West, and South Africa— have been recorded. And several curated events have been organised. These include the Under 40 CEOs Forum, Under 40 CEOs Live, Under 40 CEOs Networking Events, and an International Women’s Day event in Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda, and South Africa.

Speaking on the anniversary, Familusi Akin Babajide, Executive Director Under 40 CEOs Africa , said: “Five years is a great milestone to recommit to our vision and mission. In these times, especially, young African business leaders have

Mohab Apparel gets new brand ambassador

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ounder of 47Vibez Media, Oladuntoye Usman Olajuwon has signed an endorsement deal with Mohab Apparel, a new fashion house.

A statement signed and made available by Usman Olajuwon, explained that the new deal made him the brand ambassador and also an influencer for the new fashion house in Kwara State.

The brand ambassador

in the statement expressed his excitement at the ambassadorial role and looked forward to a cozy and mutually beneficial working relationship with Mohab Apparel. It is worthy to note that the contract agreement was signed recently at Earl Legal Services Chamber with Dr. Ahmed Olatunji Isau, the Principal Partner of Earl Legal Service; CEO Of Mohab Apparel, Abdulrahman Mohammed .

Award of Ambassadorship presented by the CEO of Mohab Apparel, Abdulrahman Mohammed (right) and the new Ambassador of Mohab Apparel, Oladuntoye Usman Olajuwon (left), at the presentation ceremony.

had to show resilience. At the Under 40 CEOs, we will continue the work of supporting these businesses to ensure that they not only survive but thrive.”

Ahead of the milestone celebration in October, the governing body of the Under 40 CEOs is opening up its platforms to several young entrepreneurs and aspiring executives, who possess the entrepreneurial qualities and drive, to spotlight and enable their businesses. It will also reward current members and new ones with premium offerings, as well as funding.

According to Familusi: “555 new annual

membership subscriptions— including 5 Platinum memberships, 50 Bronze memberships, and 500 Student memberships—will be offered. All members, old and new, will be given free access to the course ‘Starting a business in Africa.’

The 5-module course is being designed and taught by subject matter experts within our community.”

“Additionally, 50,500 copies of the book ‘Under 40 CEOs: How We Made It In Africa - Volume 1’ will be distributed for free. 5 workstations will be allotted to 5 winning businesses based in Lagos, Nigeria for 12 months.

Women group trains engineers on sustainable energy trend Ngozi Okpalakunne

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n order to expose engineers in society to the trend in sustainable energy, the Association of Professional Women En g i n e e r s o f N i g e r i a (APWEN) recently held a webinar with the theme, ‘Peer-to-peer energy trading and sharing: A concept whose time has come’.

Pr e s i d e n t , A P W E N , Funmilola Ojelade who spoke at the webinar said the event, which had participants from across the globe was part of their “Light up Nigeria” webinar series.

Ojelade said the webinar was ideal as constant energy supply in the country remains the key to national development.

“Electricity is one thing we know that if Nigeria can

get right, our economy will experience a boost because businesses will be better positioned to make profits,” she added.

Speaking on the theme of the webinar, Bamidele Adebisi, a professor at the Manchester Metropolitan Un i v e r s i t y, Un i t e d Kingdom, reviewed the evolution of electricity from the 19th century until date, adding that the global energy industry was progressively transitioning from unsustainable energy systems toward energy sustainability.

Adebisi further explained that in the 19th century, the focus was on the electrification of the society with generation and load closely coordinated ‘age of coal’ generation of electrical energy which according to him, was intensified in the early 20th century.

Guber candidate wants govt to tackle corruption, bad governance, high unemployment rate REMI FEYISIPO, Ibadan.

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ormer gubernatorial candidate of Alliance for Democracy (AD) in the 2019 general election in Oyo State, Oyedele Hakeem Alao at the weekend declared that Nigeria was far from winning the fight against terrorism and other vices.

Alao pointed out that the “fight against terrorism in the North East and other parts of Nigeria cannot be successful when corruption, bad governance, high unemployment rate, inadequate basic infrastructure and lack of basic needs of life in the country still prevail”.

Addressing journalists in Ibadan, the state capital, he told President Buhari, state governors and other stakeholders in the country that Nigeria cannot win the fight against terrorism if what he called the underlining factors- corruption, bad governance, high unemployment rate- are still existing.

He said that corrupt practices is still endemic in Nigeria in spite of all the laws, acts and policies against the social-economic problem as N576bn was said to be given

out as bribes in 2019 alone in the country.

Alao stated that corruption in Nigeria was far from abating as he cited the report of the Transparency International (TI) which, he said, ranked Nigeria as the 146th out of the 180 corrupt nations in the world.

“Corruption as kickbacks then in Nigeria in the 60s, 70s and 80s was far better as the ratio was just 5-10 percent unlike today where people take the entire contract sum.

Corruption is endemic as it has permeated every facet of life in Nigeria, corruption in the public sector- MDAs, police, army, navy, customs, immigration, etc has been alarming.

“Look at the corruption in Niger-Delta Development Commission (NDDC) where N40bn was distributed among the staff of the commission within just three months. That’s NDDC alone! What about NNPC, the military and others?

“When President Muhammadu Buhari came to power in 2015, a lot of money was voted to fight insecurity and also under our former president, Goodluck Jonathan, a huge sum of money was misappropriated under Col Sambo Dasuki as National Security Adviser,” he said.

40 Abia women to be trained in ICT UDOKA AGWU, Umuahia

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orty Abia women are to be trained in optimising telephony, internet and the use of smart phone in trading, banking and social communication.

Nkechi Ikpeazu, wife of the state governor who announced this during a statewide annual August Women Meeting tagged ‘2020 Abia Women August Delegates Conference’ ( AWA D E C ) , s a i d t h e proposed training was aimed at empowering Abia women to adapt to the new normal in the face of Covid-19 pandemic.

Sh e n oted th a t th e pandemic had changed the way of life for women in communities all over the world, placing Information and Communication Technology as the most important skill for coping within the period and that any woman who lacked basic ICT skills had found herself left behind.

Ikpeazu said it was instructive that for the first time in history, Women August meeting was holding via digital platforms without physical meetings, adding that this had foretold of

things to come.

She maintained that any well-meaning effort to empower women going forward must have elements of modern technology or it would not achieve the desired impact.

Th e Ab i a f i r s t l a d y expressed hope that the programmetargetofuplifting 40,000 through basic digital, ICT skills which could be applied in commerce or social life would translate into a veritable for women renaissance.

She also decried rising incidences of sexual and gender-based violence as a result of lockdown and advised women to take more than usual care in protecting their children who could become victims while ensuring that adequate psychological support and moral training be given to every child to curb tendencies of a child becoming sociopath.

Eleanor Nwadinobi, chairman of the occasion, and also the World President of the International Association of Medical Women, in her welcome address said living by the new normal placed a huge burden on women folk to strive to adjust and excel in whatever field they were working in.

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Insight NIMC, identity management crisis in Nigeria and the way forward Gbenga Odegbami

I

dentity management is important and cannot be overemphasised. It is so strategic that almost all the past government administrations in Nigeria since 1976 have considered it a critical space for development. Recently, the Presidency, via the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), inaugurated a Steering Committee for the Nigeria Digital Identity, to develop the Ecosystem Project to ensure that issues of identity management stay at the forefront and ensure that the government achieves its objectives.

Considering that my company, Youverify, is a key player in the Nigerian identity management ecosystem, some stakeholders have repeatedly sought my opinion on developments in this industry. Here are my thoughts on how Nigeria arrived at where we are presently, lessons learned from history and steps to achieve the nation’s identity management objectives.

So far, we have spent some much, with little results.

The World Bank has estimates that Nigeria is on the track to spend about $4.3b on identification and addressing programmes. This figure seems realistic when you consider the fact that Nigeria spends an average of over $500million on each voter registration cycle before an election.

To ensure that the thrust of this article is not missed, I will refrain from focusing on the two major factors that affect every public initiative in Nigeria; the first being corruption (the bogeyman of all problems in Nigeria, according to popular perception), while the second is lack of continuity after a change of regime.

So, let’s examine the issues that really count.

Citizens’identity management is beyond the BVN A review of the Biometric Verification Number (BVN) exerciseconducted within 18 months less that the time frame prescribed by the Banker’s Committee (lead by the CBN) agreed to shows it was successful a successful initiative. However, some stakeholders believe that it is focused only on the financially included, thus, excluding more than 60 used of the population.

For this reason, the BVN cannot beused for voter registrationor economic intervention in Nigeria i.e. National Social Register (NSR). Nevertheless; we cannot ignore the gains from adopting the BVN, especially within the Fintech space and the resultant economic value and security we enjoy today. I believe that if we galvanise the identity system to cover for almost all Nigerians,the economic impact will be wide-

Gbenga Odegbami spread.

NIMC has its challenges As human in a democratic society, we are quick to blame the government agencies for failed systems without really considering the requirements and realities of operating such systems in our polity. Perhaps, you are among those who applied for the National ID four years ago and have not received it. Statistically, transformational projects such as a National ID scheme have an average of 30 percent success rate of meeting their objectives across the globe.

Nigeria is not an exception. I have analysed four factors, from my perspective, responsible for the failure of the National ID scheme.

Value to citizens The bottom line is ID compliance is largely driven by the perceived value to citizens. For many years, we have repeatedly failed to emphasise this point, and people only wilfully submit to an identification process when they appreciate the benefit or need for them. For instance, the success attributable to the adoption of the Permanent Voters Card is largely due to the desire of people to vote during elections. Even still, INEC has registered just above 80million Nigerians in two years. For the BVN, you cannot partake in the financial ecosystem without one; therefore, you must enrol to participate.

The success of all National identification efforts in other countries is because the citizens are required to use it to access social intervention/insurance/ retirement packages and to file personal income taxes.

In Nigeria, this never existed until the creation of the National Social Investment Office (NSIO) (now Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs). However,

this ministry is focused on the vulnerable and poor for now and it therefore, excludes some section of the populace. I believe we don’t have enrolment problem but a value one.

Funding Like all non-revenue generating agencies, NIMC struggles with obtaining timely funding to achieving its stated objectives.

We perpetually runa budget deficit, and the focus seems to be on capital-intensive infrastructure project for the real sector, while other projects, like citizen identification, are neglected and pushed to compete with other the projects designed to provide basic services like food, jobs, etc. The balance is grossly uneven and agencies like NIMC are forced to halt or delay in delivering on their objectives.

I doubt if NIMC has gotten $200million combined from in-

“

Considering that my company, Youverify, is a key player in the Nigerian identity management ecosystem, some stakeholders have repeatedly sought my opinion on developments in this industry

ception and they have enrolled more than 40million Nigerians, which is significantly productive based on the data from other climes. As important as NIMC’s mandate is, it has struggled to get the funding it required because we have so many competing priorities.

Silos in government Although we have had presidential committee(s) to ensure harmonisation of identity management efforts, often such committees stymie the effort in the long run. This issue is not unique to Nigeria. Government agencies led by political appointees and career civil servants naturally protect their empire or try to increase it. Considering that political powers and organisational influence are at play here, the silos in Nigeria can be as complex as it gets. Even though NIMC operates an opendoor policy with other agencies, it takes more than open-door policy to tango in government even with direct presidential oversight.

Technology appropriateness The technology deployed for identity biometrics has evolved significantly over the years, making the process more accessible, efficient and affordable. NIMC ought to stay updated with developments in technology.

Considerable time is required to identify the technology and complete the procurement process, which is being hampered by government bureaucracies. I will illustrate this malaise when the project commenced execution; there were cheaper alternatives in the market. For instance, the NIMC smart card was ahead of the game and probably the most forward-thinking ID approach.

Today, the tech space has moved on to digital identity apps on smartphones and block chain-

based platforms.

In the same vein, not too long ago, you needed: a physical location with an agent, a digital camera with specific background, a desktop computer, 4-4-2 fingerprint scanner, a printer, electrical power and internet connection, to conduct an enrolment exercise. Presently, these processes can be replaced with an app on a smartphone and executed at the fraction of the cost and with the same or higher data quality.

Comparison with the BVN exercise Let us consider the challenges listed for NIMC ID-ingin comparison to the BVN project: The value proposition and narrative for the BVN exercise were easy and simple for all citizens to understand.Furthermore, the use and access of bank accounts was tied to the BVN thus making it mandatory.

The BVN was well funded from commencement and it is still funded through a sustainable model that doesn’t require government grants.

It does not have to deal with government silos because executed within financial industry where government plays a regulatory function mostly.

The timeline between planning and execution was very short so technological changes in the landscape did not affect the execution of the project.

The INEC registration exercise enjoyed similar circumstances with the BVN. Speaking objectively, the OSGF and NIMC comprise of erudite individuals with relevant experience, who have consistently tried to address these factors within the legal and procedural frameworks available to them.

Suggestions on the way forward Based on the existing roadmap, NIMC secured funding approval from the World Bank, as part of Africa ID4D, to accelerate enrolment and create the infrastructure to achieve becoming the foundational IDs for all other programs. The cost is pegged at $4-7 per person. For NIN to be a viable foundational ID, enrolment must be done for at least 51 percent of the population.

Considering that our population is forecasted to grow exponentiallyto 450million people by 2050, NIMC needs more funds to successfully deliver on its mandate. Based on World Bank estimates, it should cost between $400million and $700million to complete. Assuming funding issues are resolved, we have 3 more factors to consider.

Dr. Odegbami is a co-founder and the CEO at Youverify Inc. Youverify is a Lagos-based digital identity firm that facilitates the automation due diligence and compliance by using datadriven initiatives and relatedtechnology.

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Lagos and challenge of food security

Frank Aigbogun

editor Zebulon Agomuo DEPUTY EDITOR John Osadolor, Abuja

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Tayo Ogunbiyi Ogunbiyi is of the Lagos State Ministry of Information & Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja

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ith a population in excess of 25 million, Lagos understandably has a peculiar food security challenge. It is in order to tactically address this that the Babajide Sanwo-Olu Administration makes food security an integral part of its T.H.E.M.E.S. (acronyms for Traffic Management and Transportation, Health and Environment, Education and Technology, Making Lagos a 21ST Economy, Entertainment and Tourism and Governance and Security) Developmental Agenda of ‘Making Lagos State a 21st Century Economy’.

Within the strategic policy framework of the current Administration, agriculture is broadly regarded as a dynamic sector tightly interconnected to the rest of the economy.

It must be stressed that the State government has recognised the potency of agriculture to create economic growth by generating jobs, incomes and savings; reduce

poverty and stimulate food security; enhance natural resource base and foster greater social security including domestic tranquility.

Consequently, in the last one year, cogent strategies to stimulate food security has evolved. Part of the plan is to treat agriculture as a business venture by concentrating on value chains where the State has comparative advantage, and thus develop strategic partnerships that would stimulate investment in the State.

This is to deliberately develop an Agro-economy that would serve the twain purposes of producing sufficient food for the growing population, as well as developing a smooth-running Agric sector that would truly transform the State into 21st financial hub.

In view of its high demand in most homes, the State Government has decided to give a boost to rice production. Equitable and sustainable economic development cannot ignore basic food commodities. There is a high demand for rice.

This has cumulated in a huge gap between the supply and demand for rice. In order to redress this, the Sanwo-Olu administration is on the verge of completing the Stateowned Integrated Rice Mill at Imota, in the Ikorodu division of the State.

The Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Improvement Support Project (APPEALS) is another strategy designed to build capacities of actors in the Rice, Aquaculture and Poultry Value Chains towards large scale production and processing of rice, eggs, poultry and fish.

35% of its beneficiaries are women while 10% are People With Disabilities (PWD) and youths. Under the scheme, a total of 1,700 women and youths, with interest in farming and agro processing, have been empowered through the Women and Youth Empowerment Programme of the project. They were trained and empowered with agricultural inputs in rice, poultry and aquaculture value chains. It was flagged-off

by Governor Sanwo-Olu in 2019.

The whole essence of the initiative is to address healthiness of food items, reduction in post-harvest losses, improving linkages with industry in respect to backward integration as well as access to financial services and markets. All these efforts are targeted towards increasing the State’s self-sufficiency from less than 20% to over 40% of food needs by 2023.

The programme is not only targeted at farmers who are the direct beneficiaries, but also at service providers, transporters, input manufacturers and suppliers within the system whose services are required for the successful implementation of the project.

This project will also create direct employment opportunities for over 1,000 youths as farmers, processors and marketers across the Value Chains through farm expansion The Eko-City Farmers’ Market (ECFM) is another initiative being used to boost food security in the State. It is aimed at showcasing what a standard produce market should look like in a 21st century economy.

It is to also serve as a hub within the

metropolis where farmers could meet with consumers/traders to sell their products under a wellorganized structure and a beautiful outlay. The maiden edition of the market was held on Sunday, 23rd February, 2020 at Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS), Lagos.

Other food security initiatives of the current administration in the last one year include Lagos Agripreneurship Programme (L.A.P.) which has empowered 15,000 youths and women in the various agricultural value chains, Lagos Seafood Day which projects the aquaculture and seafood potentials of the State, Fish Farmers Cage Culture System, Home Grown School Feeding Programme, reform of red meat value chain, maiden international Coconut Summit, production of the State’s 5-year Agricultural Roadmap (2020-2025), disinfection and decontamination of twenty-six major live bird markets in the State and construction of a water project at Ikorodu Fish Farm Estate, Odogunyan.

Others include appraisal of farm estate and settlements in the State, commissioning of the FADAMA food market at Agbalata, Badagry, quality input supply with development of robust business model for our farmers, development of vegetables value chain in terms of production, transportation, storage, conditioning and handling, deployment of Information and Community Technology (ICT) for agricultural development and food security

Imo Itsueli Mohammed Hayatudeen Afolabi Oladele Vincent Maduka Opeyemi Agbaje Amina Oyagbola Bolanle Onagoruwa Fola Laoye Chuka Mordi Mezuo Nwuneli Charles Anudu Tunji Adegbesan Eyo Ekpo Wiebe Boer Paul Arinze Boye Olusanya Ayo Gbeleyi Haruna Jalo-Waziri Clement Isong Konyin Ajayi

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Perspective Like NDDC, like Edo: Why we must end the reign of abuse Tony Usidamen Usidamen, a public affairs analyst, writes from Lagos

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he searchlight beamed on the activities of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) recently has revealed a deep rot in the agency, which was set up by the Federal Government to provide solutions to the socio-economic difficulties of the oil-rich region. The commission has received nearly N4 trillion over the last two decades.

But there is very little to show for it. And many of the people still live in abject poverty.

Followingrecommendationsby the ad-hoc committee set up to investigate the alleged misappropriation of N40billion by the Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the NDDC, the Senate directed the IMC to refund N4.923 billion to the NDDC coffers. It found that a large chunk of the sum was illegally paid to staff and contractors of the

commission while the nation was on total lockdown due to Covid-19.

That is, within just a few months.

For instance, a payment of N85.6million was allegedly made to 14 staff members to attend the graduation of NDDC scholars in the United Kingdom in June 2020.

N150million was paid to some union executives for a conference in Italy in April. And, in the same month, another N143million payment was made to 5 staff members to attend a participatory budget conference. Earlier in February, N171million was paid in cash to 300 for a training course.

The NDDC has refuted some of these claims. It accused the lawmakers of padding its budgets, as well as undue influence in the award of contracts. In a letter to the National Assembly (NASS), the superintending minister of the NDDC, Godswill Akpabio, disclosed the names of NASS members who are beneficiaries of various unexecuted contracts.

One lawmaker had 74 to his name, underscoring the level of abuse in the corridors of power.

Just like the NDDC, Edo State, undersuccessivegovernments,has been bedeviled with administrative

corruption. Massive fraud occurred in revenue collection and remittance to the state government. And all the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) of the state’s bureaucracycontraveneddueprocess in spending public funds. The civil service was grossly inefficient, and there was a total lack of transparency in public works.

In addition to the volume of transactions, and the financial interests at stake, corruption in public procurement was exacerbated by the complexity of the process. Government officials and politicians colluded to exploit gaps in service delivery and accountability systems. There was undue influence in project needs assessment, bid evaluation, as well as costs—as officials involved in the contract award process were compromised. Impunity was rife.

And development was stunted.

Since becoming governor, Godwin Obaseki has worked hard to correct these anomalies. The Edo Civil Service has been repositioned for greater efficiency. MDAs have been reorganised, and facilities have been upgraded. Staff are being trained and retrained. And a better reward system has been

put in place. Today, the whole spectrum of activities within the government is driven by the use and application of ICT. And operational bottlenecks in the delivery of qualitative and transparent public services have been removed.

There is a significant increase in internally generated revenue (IGR), thanks to changes at the Edo Internal Revenue Service, including thediscontinuationoftheintimidating and fraud-ridden approach to revenue collection. And the state’s resources are being judiciously utilised. Arrears of pensioners, dating back to 1996, have been cleared, monthly pensions and death benefitsaredulypaid,andworkers’salariesareregularandprompt.Thelean approach to governance has freed up more funds for development projects. It has also attracted investments to the state and ushered in a new era of progress.

But, as they say, when you fight corruption, it always finds a way to fight back. And that is what we see happening in Edo state right now. A few “powerful” politicians and their cronies, who profited from the old order of impunity, are fighting to take back control of the state’s treasury. They are in-

tent on using any means possible to enthrone a government that permits their pyramid-structured patronage networks, which are based on “cash and carry” kickback relationships, while the majority of Edo people wallow in poverty.

Their only agenda is to plunder our commonwealth. However, it will be anything but simple.

What these desperados fail to realise is that Edo people are the wiser. Or do they think that we have forgotten how they turned our hard-working fathers and mothers into beggars, denying them their entitlements after years of service to the state? How our talented young people languished with no jobs or hope for tomorrow?

How our schools, hospitals, roads, and other public infrastructure were left to rot while they built sprawling mansions for themselves? No! We have not forgotten!

And we will not risk our future and that of our children by entrusting the state’s resources to thieves and looters. True power lies in the hands of the people. And, come 19th September, we will stand with Obaseki to end their reign of abuse, and join hands with him in Making Edo Great Again.

Celebrating Governor Abiodun’s infrastructural development impact in Ogun Lanre Oyegbola-Sodipo Oyegbola-Sodipo is a marketing communications practitioner, and Abeokuta North Local Government Chairmanship hopeful

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he provision of infrastructure is critical for socioeconomic development in any nation. Like many states, nations and sub-regions around the world, Ogun State has had its share of infrastructure dearth such that the systems like transportation, housing, environment, education, healthcare, agriculture, power, security and social services, portable water are in dire need of maintenance and upgrade.

On assuming duties as the fifth Executive Governor of Ogun State in 2019, Prince Dapo Abiodun was unhappy with the deplorable condition of amenities within the state: the roads and bridges, school buildings, public hospitals and water plants, etc. He had to figure out ways of bridging the infrastructure gap to accelerate the socio-economic development vision, which was top priority.

With his diverse private sector experience on purposeful governance and robust developmental blueprint summarised as ‘Building our Future Together,’ Prince Abiodun was determined to open up all the nooks and crannies of the state through capital investments in infrastructure.

He facilitated massive road construction and rehabilitation within the 236 wards across the three senatorial districts, such that despite the meagre resources available to the state, over 50 roads have been completed and 19 are in progress within his first year in office.

Some of the road construction works include the Epe-Ijebu Ode and Sagamu-Abeokuta federal roads constructed by past administrations, but recently rehabilitated by the Abiodun administration through Public-Private Partnership.

Others are Itoikin-Ibefun-Ijebu Ode, Iperu-Ilisan, Sango-Ojodu Abiodun, Ilaro-Owode, Abeokuta-Sango-Ota-Lagos, Osi-OtaAwolowo-Navy-Kola and Balogun Kuku in Ijebu Ode. The ongoing works include the reconstruction of Opako Bridge in Adigbe, Abeokuta, several township roads and the abandoned 32-kilometre Akute-Ajuwon-Alagbole road.

Furthermore, the creation of Ogun State Public Works Agency (OGPWA) following the passage of the Ogun State Road Maintenance Agency (OGRMA) amendment bill into law has birthed several cost-saving opportunities through the massive construction, rehabilitation and maintenance projects. They have created streams of job opportunities, improved productivity, increased mobility and alleviated poverty within the state.

Noticeably, Abiodun’s view of road infrastructure is holistic and includes boosting agriculture and

micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) growth. The state government is also giving special attention to infrastructure development in the Agbara-Atan-Ota, Ewekoro-Ifo and Sagamu-Ogijo industrial hubs.

As a means of exploring the state’s proximity to the country’s commercial hub, the visionary governor is also partnering with the Lagos State Government on key joint ventures. This will help to fast track development and spill over of commercial opportunities.

Noteworthy is the fact that the people of Abeokuta North Local Government in particular, are excited by Governor Abiodun’s infrastructural achievements across the length and breadth of the state.

A recent visit to different communities within the local government showed that there has been enormous investment in infrastructure. These include the reconstructed Iberekodo General Hospital internal road, mobilisation of contractors to resume work on the Lafenwa roundabout road and Mokola flyover along AjitadunAdatan road, inherited from the previous administration.

Another significant project was the revival of operations in the Arakanga water treatment plant which is responsible for supplying portable water to Abeokuta metropolis and its environs. Earlier this year, the governor had visited the comatose water plant and by March, households had started enjoying good water supply.

The renovation of public

classrooms in primary and junior secondary schools in Abeokuta North Local Government by Governor Abiodun’s administration has also been remarkable. The beneficiary schools include ANLG Primary School, Federal Housing, Elega, ANGL Primary School, Ilugun Asalu, Holy Prophet School, Isale-Ogun, OUS Primary School, Ikereku, Owu Methodist Primary School, Oke-Sokori and Moshood Abiola Model School, Adatan.

In addition, textbooks and teaching materials donated to public schools in the all local government areas, as well as the installation of Education Management Information System (EMIS) equipment in the Abeokuta North Local Government Education Authority to aid data collection and analysis.

This has also been replicated in other Local Government Education Authorities within the state.

The governor’s bias for healthcare was evident in the reconstruction the public Primary Health Centre, in Adeun, Abeokuta North Local Government. The facility upgrade included the installation of solar power equipment and fencing.

Since the inception of the COVID-19 pandemic, the administration has set up a COVID-19 isolation and treatment centre at Iberekodo, carried out an aggressive distribution of palliatives to the youths and vulnerable, and fumigated Lafenwa, Olomore and Iberekodo major markets.

Prince Abiodun’s efforts in providing funds through the Central

Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Anchor Borrowers Programme, supply of weed killer, fertilizers and agriculture fields to 3,500 farmers drawn from Abeokuta North Local Government and other LGAs are some of his giant strides in agriculture.

Similarly, the mass recruitment of youths into the Ogun State Environmental Protection Agency (OGEPA) and vocational trainings for artisans in plumbing, electrical and building works are under the direct labour initiative of the state ministry of housing. Also, several sons and daughters of Abeokuta NorthLocalGovernmentAreahave beenofferedpoliticalappointments to the credit of the governor.

The establishment of Oko Owo Dapo and Care for Widows’ schemes have been great sources of empowerment and increased productivity for the beneficiaries.

These welfare initiatives have positively impacted and improved the socio-economic activities in the beneficiary communities.

In like manner, the donation and installation of two new distribution transformers to Kemta/Ilugun in Abeokuta North Local government have resuscitated life and commercial activities.

Without any doubt, Prince Dapo Abiodun has demonstrated to the people of Ogun State that delivering good governance is not a rocket science. With his “Building our Future Together” agenda, which was inspired by the ‘Hope 93’ message of the legendary Ogun son, the late Aare M.K.O. Abiola, Ogun State is set for the top.

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Perspective Things about Beirut port bombing that show Lebanese are like Nigerians Ikeddy ISIGUZO Isiguzo, a major commentator on minor national issues, writes from Abuja

T

here are so many similarities with the setting in the port of Beirut, Lebanon that if the names were switched, could have fittedhere-thecatastrophicexplosion at that port that killed more than 130 people, injured about 5,000 and made over 300,000 homeless.

The blast could have been at any of the ports in Nigeria. However, one of the major things we can learn from Faysal Itani’s New York Times letter to the editor, Maria Vasilyeva Reuters’ report and other newspapers, is the picture of state failure. It is very simple.

A cargo that caused the accident was from a Panama-registered cargo vessel that had been stranded at Beirut port for seven years due to mechanical problems.

The owners of the ship deserted it, abandoned the crew for some months. The authorities released the crew. The ship remained stranded at Beirut port for non-payment of dues. It bore a cargo of 2,700 tons of deadly ammonium nitrate which was offloaded into some warehouses in the port. The legal battle between the port and ship owners continued for years.

The dangerous cargo had been at the port for seven years. Nobody cared. All the authorities went to work, earned their entitlements

without any cares about the safety of the port.

Here are insights from the incident that a concerned Nigerian, Okwy Okeke compiled. They create perspectives that pull out causes of the avoidable blast- State of affairs of Lebanon prior explosion; decades of rot at every level of the country’s institutions caused the explosion, not a single act; it is a country deeply divided by politics, religion, and history; the country’sportisprimerealestatefor political and criminal factions of the ruling coalition andmilitias, and multiplesecurityagencieswithdifferent levels ofcompetence(anddifferent politicalallegiances)controlvarious aspects of their operations.

Others are that the recruitment in the civilian bureaucracy is dictated by political or sectarian quotas; there is a pervasive culture of negligence, petty corruption and blame-shifting that is endemic to the country’s bureaucracy; the accident was foretold, but ignored; the country’s currency has collapsed; a problem that is itself a result of years of mismanagement and corruption. People can no longer buy fuel, food and medicine as citizens have seen their savings wiped out and their purchasing power disappeared.

A new vocabulary appeared among even the optimists to describe the country, with words like “doomed” and “hopeless.”

The catastrophe, while exceptionally severe, is the result of business as usual in the country.

Reaction and what to come

All these are overseen by a political class defined by its incompetence and contempt for the public good.

Shock will inevitably turn to anger.

Besides the immediate loss of lives and property, critical infrastructures have been damaged and the population will suffer the consequences for years to come.

The politicians are known for shifting blames.

People do not expect many - if any - high-level resignations or admissions of responsibility.

Will there be a revolution? An uprising of anger? Any revolutionary impulse would have to compete with tribal, sectarian, and ideological affiliations. These matter in the country, just as much as the facts. Even if a single official version of the port incident is presented (and even if it is true), some will not believe it.

Paradoxically, our distrust of our politicians makes it harder to unite against them.

It is difficult to imagine a concerted, sustained national movement because it has never materialised.

More than an official version of what happened is bound to emerge.

Eerie similarities with Nigeria If the foregoing read eerily familiar to Nigerians, it is because Lebanon is similar to their country, and the state of affairs there, a close match for ours. That should alarm us. Unfortunately, the two countries are similar in all possible

negative ways, but different when we wish they were not.

Lebanon has fought a civil war, perhaps more than one, and has low-grade wars on many fronts.

Lebanon boasts of ancient civilisations, is a cross-road of religions and people.

The country is a colonial construct.

Lebanon belongs to Club Med (Mediterranean), so, will get emergency aids provided by wealthy countries in the region/club, Nigeria does not.

Lebanon enjoys strong clientstate relationship with some neighbours, Nigeria does not.

What makes Nigeria’s case worse area captured in the following lines? They should trouble those who genuinely care about the welfare and safety of Nigerians.

A few differences though from Lebanon Nigeria’s incompetence would have produced higher casualty figures. Absence of emergency infrastructure would have been a major deterrent to rescue operation.

There would be no hospitals to manage the injured. Covid-19 would have a complete explanation for the failure.

Injured persons would make it to places with no equipment, no competences to deal with their situations.

Everyone in the vicinity, except the criminals, would have been arrested. They would have been tormented until they “confess to the crime”.

Government officials would

make conflicting statements blaming everyone but themselves for the incident.

The simple explanation for the blast would be that corrupt politicians were fighting back in their bid to create a bad image for the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.

Another explanation would be that those envious of the giant achievements of the current administration were bent on distracting the President.

The investigations would have been centered on how security was taking bribes to release suspects who were willing to pay. The probe would have turned into a comedy.

Worse settings could abound in our settings, renowned for inattentiveness of officials, many of whom have their interests ahead of their work.

The cargo of ammonium nitrate rotted in the warehouses, 2,700 tons of deadly explosive cargo went off and flattened a large part of Beirut. The accident had waited for seven years to happen, and has ruined Beirut.

Are there unattended situations that can land Nigeria in this type of situation? There could be. Until poor-stored bombs went off at the Ikeja Cantonment, Lagos, on Sunday, January 27, 2002, nobody knew the dangers that they posed.

ManyresidentsoftheCantonment never knew there was danger around them.

There are lessons for us to learn from the blast in the port of Beirut.

Will we learn them?

Engaging the Nigerian youth: The danger of a single perspective Chinasa (‘Nasa) Ken-Ugwuh IG: @with_nasa LinkedIn: Chinasa Ken-Ugwuh

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here I was, on a wintery day, somewhere in West London, sat in front of this slightly built, caucasian gentleman with a bald head, his glasses sitting right on the bridge of his nose and almost glued to his face. Steve was my Sociology teacher at the independent A’Levels college I was studying at.

The conversation we were having was as nippy as the weather outside, it was me trying to understand why he had scored me a ‘D-grade’ on my first ever essay in his class.

The partly expressionless look on his face and a feigned attempt to smile exuded typical British sarcasm. He was obviously thinking I had lost my marbles, or I was just an ignoramus that just arrived from Nigeria.

I had written the essay confident of nothing less than a ‘B-grade’ in the worst case - I was a well above average student from my secondary school in Nigeria and

my O’Level grades were a testament to that. So, you see, scoring a ‘D-grade’on a sociology paper that had in it everything he had taught, was quite perplexing for me. The assignment must’ve been around evaluating a topic we had been taught, and in my Nigerian fashion, I proceeded to regurgitate everything he had taught, perhaps, even verbatim in parts. To my mind, this approach would earn me the high marks I desired, because it would demonstrate my ability to recall to memory all I had learned. Besides, this was how, by and large, we were taught to answer questions where I was coming from.

After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, Steve decided to lecture me. He explained that his expectation was for me to demonstrate understanding, and to do that, my thinking and my perspective was very important. The expression on my face summed it all up - on the one hand I was shocked and on the other hand, I felt like I had been released from a mind prison, like really, I’m allowed to have a view and it’s valued? Not

what the teacher says it is?

This thankfully would mark the beginning of my freedom from the “prison of the mind” – an actual organisational metaphor for imposed beliefs and teachings in an organised system. Anyway, lest I digress, this experience highlighted to me, one of the flaws of the education systems in Nigeria.

Education is beyond the rigid curriculum in a school setting, there is a myriad of factors that influence the experience in its entirety to produce a well-rounded individual, and socio-cultural norms is one of them. The prescriptive approach the teachers adopt, which arguably is culturally influenced, does not encourage expressing your opinion. The thinking is, you are young and so it’s assumed you don’t’ know, so you get told - what to do and how to do it. You are not experienced enough to have an opinion or point of view; your job is to follow instructions to the letter and be disciplined in your ability to memorise information.

It turns out, this experience was not peculiar to just myself, my friend Temi shared that she only got freed from the ‘prison of the mind’ when shestartedworking,asallherstudyingyears,uptoherfirst-degreewere

in Nigeria. The realisation that she couldshareherviewsandtheywere valid was something of an epiphany for her. Such a brilliant and vibrant mind stifled for years because of a Single Perspective. In truth, this was probably the case for many young people like myself and Temi growing up.

It was the UN International Youth Day a couple of days ago and the theme for this year was, ‘Youth Engagement for Global Action’.

The objective of which was to highlight ways in which engaging young people at the local, national and global levels is enriching national and multilateral institutions and processes, as well as draw lessons on how their representation and engagement in formal institutional politics can be significantly enhanced. (www.un.org).

Engaging the youth effectively in our country needs to start with our approach to education and the way children are taught. There’s a need to move from the Prescriptive approach to an Adaptive approach which encourages participation and dialogue. Without these mindshifts and educational system reengineering as it were, the youths will remain poorly engaged. This, however, is potentially catastroph-

ic, in a country with a significant youth population existing in a progressive world – it will limit the youth dividend we are poised to enjoy if harnessed properly.

I’m thankful to Steve for bailing me out of my mind prison, which was vastly shaped by the single perspective I had growing up. My friend Temi however, thinks the single perspective I even refer to is non-existent, the world has evolved so much, and that perspective is null and void. It is this reason that Teacher Training is one of the critical components required to reform Nigeria’sEducationsector,atraining that must ensure a shift in mind-sets and approach to teaching if we are to enjoy the dividends of our youthful population optimally.

On this note, my message today, to the Nigerian youth, is in the words of the renowned late reggae singer, Bob Marley –“Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery; None but ourselves can free our mind”. More now than ever, technology has made the world borderless, so much so, you do not need to travel to experience diverse ways of thinking to develop your minds. If your country won’t do it for you, then do it for yourself and the future of your country.

Sunday 16 August 2020

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Politics Despite the challenge of coronavirus, economy of Akwa Ibom still growing - Okon The outbreak of coronavirus pandemic has given a serious blow on economic activities around the world. In Nigeria, the story is not different. Many states including Akwa Ibom State are equally affected in more ways. Akan Okon, commissioner for Economic Development and Ibom Deep Seaport, in this interview with ANIEFIOK UDONQUAK explains how the state has been affected by the pandemic and the rationale behind its industrialisation scheme. Excerpt.

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What has been the impact of coronavirus on the economy of the state? his pandemic is not peculiar to Akwa Ibom State. It is a problem that has affected the entire world economy. For the first time, we are seeing its impact on demand and supply. Akwa Ibom State, being a part of the world’s environment, is also affected by the pandemic. But you know the true test of a leader on what he does in the time of challenges. You can see what Governor Udom Emmanuel has done during this period which shows that he has taken a decision that would stand the test of time.

For instance, when others were putting makeshift facilities as isolation centres, the governor decided to put up a permanent structure which would be used for other medical services when the pandemic is over.

Also, while some airlines around the world were cutting jobs, our own airline received an additional aircraft, which is a testimony to the managerial ability of the governor.

In summary, the state is equally affected by the pandemic given the fact that our major revenue source is crude oil, and oil revenue has been significantly affected by the pandemic, resulting to drop in government allocation to the state.

On the other hand, internally generated revenue is also affected because many businesses were not in operation. Therefore, their ability to pay taxes was also affected but we believe that things would get back to normal over a period of time. By and large, the state government under the leadership of Governor Udom Emmanuel has done excellently well in the management of the economy under the pandemic.

Talking about the Ibom Air, is it really the responsibility of the state government to set up an airline?

When the airline was being conceived, many people did not believe that it was possible for the state government to own an airline.

But, I have always said, if Mr. B could not do a particular project, it does not mean that Mr. C cannot do it.

Today, I am very happy that even the popular critics, are the ones using the airline.

The airline is well respected in the aviation industry because of its excellent services.

The fleets are quite new, perhaps the youngest fleet in the industry for now with all the latest technology.

I believe that with the business structure, the airline would come to be a success. Yes, people may say that it is not the business of government to be engaged in certain businesses but in such circumstances, government can lead the way. I am certain that the right thing would be done at the right time.

The airline has become the first choice of air travelers with additional routes being added in recent times.

One major challenge facing the youth is unemployment and this seems to have been aggravated by the pandemic, is the state government worried about this?

Unemployment is a major problem in the country because we are a consuming economy and we are not manufacturing. We have even seen instances where companies that were operating in the country had to relocate.

Prior to the coming of Governor Udom

Akan Okon

Emmanuel, we did not have much company in the state, but in the last five years, many companies have been set up including the Flour Mill, the Metering Solution Company and a plywood firm. We have various firms coming up. These companies are offering employment to Akwa Ibom people.

Before now, when our young men and women who are in universities and polytechnics needed opportunities for industrial attachments, they would go to other states but opportunities are now made available in the state. The industrialisation programme of the state government is to ensure that we have industries that can function and create employment opportunities for our youths and this has been successful.

Though, all the problems that have been in the state over the years cannot be sorted out in one day. But, as the saying goes, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a step. Governor Udom Emmanuel has started; he has provided the enabling environment that has brought in a lot of companies to the state. I believe that if we continue in this fashion over a period of time, the issue of unemployment will be significantly reduced.

The Ibom Deep Seaport is key project of the present administration, what progress has been made so far?

The deep seaport will provide enormous employment opportunities for our youths.

A few hours ago, the association of dredgers paid me a courtesy visit which was in respect of the Ibom Deep Seaport project.

The level of employment opportunities that deep seaport can provide to any economy is huge and our deep seaport is not a standalone project. It comes with an industrial city and heavy industries involved in export activities.

This will add to the employment opportunities that will be available to our people.

Things are gradually picking up. The port is in phases, but I am very certain that at the rate

we are going now, before the administration of Governor Udom Emmanuel ends, we should be able to achieve a lot. We are going to have container terminal etc and they will be coming in phases.

How has the recent tax reliefs granted businesses in the state encouraged growth and economic activity?

The relief would ensure that they have funding to restart their businesses instead of paying taxes. It is a major step that would enable businesses to restart their operations. It shows the government has the interest of the people at heart. The governor is interested in having our economy bounce back, which is why he has taken that measure by granting tax reliefs to businesses in the state.

Though, many projects are being slowed down because of drop in finances coming to the state, but things would pick up to the level it used to be. It is the desire of the state government to complete all the ongoing projects. There is a lot of hope.

Recently, the Community and Social Development Project (CSDP) visited Akwa Ibom state to inspect some projects being implemented in partnership with the World Bank, what has been their verdict?

They have been to Eket senatorial district.

We are topping the national average. In fact, far above the national average in the area of water sanitation, health and generally, things that improves social safety nets and basic services in the rural communities.

This is based on the counterpart funding provided by the state government. They were here because that particular phase of the programme is coming to an end. Because of how effective the programme has been, that is why it has been retained as one of the vehicles for the implementation of programmes being developed by the federal government and the World Bank.

INEC calls for stakeholder collaboration to institute transparency in election result management James Kwen, Abuja

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he Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has urged critical stakeholders to join the Commission in instituting a regime of transparency in election and result management.

INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye who made the call on Friday at a virtual workshop on INEC Communication Policy said the desire to achieve these noble goals is at the heart of the development of the Communication Policy.

Okoye also said INEC will continue to enhance Nigerians knowledge of electoral issues and processes and urged the media, civil society groups and iall relevant stakeholders to join the Commission in deepening the use of technology in the electoral process.

According to him, the Commission is courageously and boldly deepening the use of technology in the electoral process, adding that this is the basis of the introduction of the INEC Party Nomination Portal; the Election Observer Accreditation Portal and the Media Accreditation Portal.

The INEC Chief Spokesman said transparency in the result transmission process led to the development and deployment of the INEC Result Viewing Portal wherein the Commission uploads Forms EC8A for public viewing.

He explained that: “The INEC Communication Policy is a composite document designed to address both internal and external communication processes and procedures of the Commission and for the Commission. It is designed to eliminate ‘adhocism’ in the entire gamut of the Commission’s communication system. I therefore implore all of you to familiarise yourselves with the clear intendment and intentions of the document and see it as a tool not only of understanding our communication policies but also of seeing the challenges.

“It is difficult communicating internally and externally when individuals and groups are facing existential challenges occasioned by a pandemic. It is difficult getting individuals, groups and organisations to focus on the conduct and management of elections in a period of fear, anxiety or worse. It is difficult getting individuals and groups to focus on elections when the dominant issues in global lexicon relates to a virus and protocols relating to managing it.”

“It is difficult getting people to focus on elections and electoral matters when there is looming danger that they may be out of job or already out of work or are in Internally Displaced Persons Camps. It is difficult getting people to focus on elections in a period of uncertainty.

“Communicating what people may see as non-essential service in a period of a pandemic or uncertainty requires a new form of capacity and skill. It requires new thinking and new methodologies and strategy. Consequently, information/ communication experts and managers must design ways and means of getting the people to focus on messages that are related to the electoral process. It is also important to disseminate such messages and information using means that the people can relate to in a new setting of physical distancing, lock down and daily rise in infection level. Information managers must therefore communicate in such a way that people will see and appreciate election as an essential service.

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Sunday 16 August 2020

Politics

Godwin Obaseki

Osagie Ize-Iyamu

Rotimi Akeredolu

Eyitayo Jegede

Edo, Ondo guber: Why politicians, parties must tread softly

W Iniobong Iwok

ith few weeks to the gubernatorial elections in Edo and Ondo States, stakeholders have expressed worry over the political tension in both states which has aggravated in recent days. They have subsequently urged the politicians and their political parties to tread cautiously in order not to plunge the states into anarchy.

Commentators who spoke with BDSUNDAY advised politicians and their political parties, particularly those from other states going to Edo for campaign, not to destroy the state with their intemperate utterances.

“Already the state has been set on fire.

Remember when Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State said they would put Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers in isolation centre until election was over; Wike replied that he was not like the Kano governor having a moral weight of allegation of stuffing bribe money (dollar) in his flowing gown in front of camera,” Francis Nworie, an entrepreneur, said.

“If you observe very well, presentation of manifestos is no longer the in-thing, but the campaign is about use of base language and innuendos against opponents.

These have caused tempers to rise, heightening the possibility of violence-riddled exercise on September 19 in Edo. For me, I think that Edo people should be spared all of these,” Nworie further said.

Analysts also expressed worries over the apparent “Sidon look” attitude of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies.

“I had thought that the INEC had a mechanism for checking politicians, parties and candidates whose actions constitute a huge threat to the peaceful conduct of elections,” Alex Peters, a civil servant, said.

According to Peters, “It appears to me that either some people are compromised that they no longer carry out their functions or they are deficient of professionalism in their work. We saw what happened

in Kogi last year; it did not just break out spontaneously, it had been rehearsed and practised all through the campaign period. But nobody cared to nip it in the board. Something tells me that despite all the hues and cries now attending to the too many signals pointing to a violent exercise, the relevant authorities are like the Roman Emperor Nero, fiddling while Rome was on fire.”

Recall that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had fixed the Edo gubernatorial election for September 19, while the Ondo election is slated for October 10.

In Edo State, incumbent Governor, Godwin Obaseki, who is the candidate of the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) is facing a fierce challenge from his main rival, Osagie Ize-Iyamu, candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Both had previously contested the gubernatorial election in 2016 in which Obaseki emerged winner.

However, after the intrigues that led to their emergence as candidates of their respective parties, the battle was shifted to the campaign ground.

But a key factor in the Edo election that cannot be ignored is Adams Oshiomhole, who recently lost his position as the national chairman of the APC. Ironically, in their first contest in 2016, Oshiomhole, the presumed leader of the two political actors, was the major force behind Obaseki against Ize-Iyamu.

Today, the situation has completely changed, as Oshiomhole is now the major force behind Ize-Iyamu against Obaseki.

In the last few weeks, there has been increased desperation within the two political camps in the state, all in attempts to control the state and gain upper hand ahead of the election.

One of such was the recent attempt to forcefully take control of the state legislature by the pro-Oshiomhole lawmakers.

The crisis in the Edo Assembly began when the Assembly was inaugurated under controversial circumstances at night by the governor with only nine, out of 24

lawmakers-elect, on June 17.

In the last few weeks, politicians from both camps have turned Edo State to battle ground with the head of the APC campaign committee and Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje and Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, who is the also the head of the PDP campaign committee in the state, constantly throwing verbal shots at each other.

Comments by politicians have heated up the polity in recent days, while report of increased violent altercations between the supporters of the PDP and those of the APC near the palace of the Oba of Benin, Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Ewuare II, when PDP governors, led by Wike, who were in the state to flag off the campaign of its candidate, visited the Oba. The opposing groups were said to have poured invectives on the party and their candidates.

Reports also had it that some of them sustained injuries and a few were also arrested by the police.

The standoff has further aggravated in recent days and as heightened apprehension in the state and raised the likelihood of a bloody poll.

As the election draws nearer, there is increased concern among observers on the likelihood of violence prone gubernatorial election in Edo State.

Observers are of the view that relevant agencies involved in the conduct of the election in Edo need to put their houses in order to be able to checkmate the looming violence, comparable to the dimension that took place in Kogi State during the November 16 gubernatorial election.

Also similar situation is playing out in Ondo State where the incumbent Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, who is the candidate of the APC, is being challenged

by Eyitayo Jegede who emerged the candidate of the PDP and his former deputy, Agboola Ajayi, who lost out in the PDP primary but has now emerged the candidate the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).

Recall that Jegede contested the governorship election in 2016 but lost to Akeredolu.

Jegede was a former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in the state and has boasted that he would do all he could to emerge victorious in the October 10 election.

In the last few days, tension has been on the increase in Ondo State due to desperation among political actors.

As the election draws nearer, there is increased concern among observers on the likelihood of violence due to utterances by politicians and political leaders in the state.

Pundits have noted that campaigns in Nigeria have deviated from issue-based to attacks on personality and violence because political parties in the country lack ideology which is supposed to be the basis of their messages during electioneering campaign.

“This is what has been happening, politicians heating up the polity, promoting violence, and innocent people losing their lives and nobody is held accountable.

“It is an old problem that has been there, our campaigns are not based on issues, and that is partly because our parties don’t have programmes, ideology, you cannot differentiate them from each other so what would they tell the people?”

Sylvester Odion Akhaine, a professor of political science of the Lagos State University (LASU), said.

According to Akhaine, “They engaged in personality attacks, we saw what Ganduje said on Monday, but people may interpret it in different meanings and ways.

“I would be happy if the candidates can focus on issues facing the people rather than attacks, but I would not be disappointed if the same scenarios repeat themselves in Edo”.

He, however, advocated for a new orientation among politicians in Nigeria, and a change in the nation’s political institutions.

“I have always said in my writings that the present crops of African leaders are not making sense, they are not learning; we need to go back and teach them, we need new ideas and institutions on how to transform the society,” he said.

Sunday 16 August 2020

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Politics Obaseki’s energy reforms and the scramble for Edo votes Lucky Isibor

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vailability of energy is an indispensable component of the development of modern economies. A non-disruptive and functional economy requires energy for agriculture, manufacturing processes, transportation and other services that drive the knowledge value revolution which has become a sine-quanon in employment generation, poverty alleviation and all-inclusive empowerment in the emerging economies in the global arena.

The availability of energy for economic development are mainly determined by the manner the economic entity addresses issues of energy production, distribution and consumption. The qualities of energy policy may include legislations, reliability of arbitration, the degree of incentivisation of investments to attract foreign direct investments FDI, taxation and other public issue mechanics.

It is against the foregoing backdrop the interrogation of Governor Godwin Obaseki’s reforms in Edo State has become imperative with a view to arriving at what the state stands to gain or lose from the reforms he has embarked on in the energy sector of the economy.

It is an indisputable fact that as soon as Governor Obaseki came into office, he immediately identified the paucity of energy as one of the major impediments to the state’s industrial growth and the realisation that availability of small and medium enterprises is now the most effective way of creating employment.

This led to the search for investors who came in, first to work out modalities for engagement and ensure that appropriate mechanics are emplaced to protect their investments in line with global best practice. This led to the signing of various memoranda of understanding (MoU) in the energy sector.

A segment of the political class who are ignorant of global best practices in international investments criticised this because in their warped and convoluted thinking, it is time consuming and closed all illegal routes the state’s resources were hitherto diverted to private pockets.

However, it is a given that no international investor worth his salt will put his money in a venture where there is no memorandum of understanding (MOU), which is simply an agreement between two or more parties indicating an intended common line of action outlined in a formal

Ongoing work at the 5500bpd Edo Modular Refinery, a key legacy project by the Obaseki administration at Ologbo in Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area (LGA) of Edo State.

or written document.

These MoUs have brought to fruition the establishment of the Ossiomo electricity generating plant which has been completed with a capacity of 55 megawatts. The most interesting part of this project is that the Edo state government has entered into a power purchase agreement with the generating company to distribute the electricity derived therefrom to government offices in the Sapele road and Government Reservation Area corridor, including the High Court, Hospitals and the House of Assembly.

As test running of the project is ongoing, work will soon start on the expansion of the generating plant to increase its capacity to 250 megawatts.

A lot of job opportunities were created during the construction of the plant and more jobs will be created when it becomes fully operational.

Another product of the Governor Obaseki energy reform is the ongoing construction of the Edo Refinery and Petrochemical Limited sited at Ologbo.

This project which is 70percent completed will be refining 6,000 barrels of

crude oil daily and delivering 500,000 litres of Automated Gas Oil AGO, 300,000 litres of Naphta and 200,000 litres of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS. The modular refinery will be sourcing crude oil from the Nigeria Petroleum Development Company NPDC which is also in Benin City.

When these two key energy projects become operational, which is going to be very soon; in fact, in a matter of weeks, a lot of jobs will be created, especially the small and medium enterprises which play very key roles in economic development, job creation and poverty alleviation.

These energy reforms will also attract investments in social enterprises. Several countries like Indian, Malaysia and other Asian emerging economies are using social enterprises to alleviate poverty and create jobs. One of such social enterprises has already birthed in Edo state as a result of Governor Obaseki’s reforms in the collection of internally generated revenue, IGR and the banishment of Motor Park touts popularly known in local palance as “Agberos”. The Edo Civil Societies Organisations (EDOSCO) took advantage of this to establish the EDOCSO transport that operates several routes in the Benin metropolis and charge less than 50percent of fares charged by commercial drivers.

These reforms in the energy sector by the Obaseki administration will no doubt attract him votes in the 19 September Edo governorship election, not only to enable him see these projects to fruition, but to initiate others that are in the pipeline.

Edo people are rational in their thought processes and will distance themselves from the political party and candidate that are spinning controversies around the establishment of these laudable projects.

Conjuring wicked lies around these projects that are already creating employment opportunities for Edo people with high capacity to conserve the nation’s foreign reserve is a proof that those opposed to the re-election of Governor Godwin Obaseki do not mean well for Edo State just as they have ran out of ideas and have no alternative narratives to offer the people.

Being a people who are not led by the nose and far from being cringing idiots, come 19 September, Edo people will queue behind Governor Godwin Obaseki and his party, the PDP to enable him continue to stamp his developmental imprint in all the nooks and crannies of the state.

Lucky Isibor, a journalist, writes from Benin

Ondo 2020: NAOSS calls on youths to eschew violence KORETIMI AKINTUNDE, Akure

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he National Association of Ondo State Students (NAOSS) has called on all youths to eschew violence before, during and after the forthcoming October 10 gubernatorial election in the state.

Addressing newsmen in Akure Friday, the leader of the association, Ayoade Kikiowo said that the body has concluded plans to meet all governorship candidates contesting in the gubernatorial election in

order to discuss on the plans they have for students and youths.

According to Kikiowo, the move became necessary because of the challenges being currently faced by students in all tertiary institutions in the state.

The NAOSS leader said the programme tagged ‘Conversation Ondo’ would allow selected students and youth leaders and representatives to interface with the candidates individually to reel out specific programmes they have for students if voted in as governor of the state.

“As the Ondo State gubernatorial election draws near, a cross-delivery of electoral manifestos and demands have become pertinent for informed electoral choices. Youths and students, as a huge fraction of the populace, becomes a focal point.

“In view of this, the coalition of related organisations has teamed up to create ‘Conversation Ondo’, a youth-centric platform for political parties and candidates to deliver their manifestos.

“Conversation Ondo will host political

candidates on popular media platforms to relay their intentions targeted at youths and students in the state.

“We believe that this will immensely benefit gubernatorial candidates as well as the youths, whose political inclusion has to be deliberately encouraged.

“We also use this opportunity to sue for peace from all angles of the society before, during and after the election.

Particularly, we enjoin Ondo youths and students to be of good conduct through the electoral process,” Kikiowo said.

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Sunday 16 August 2020

Focus UNILAG VC’s removal: Intrigues, controversy threaten varsity’s stability KELECHI EWUZIE

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niversity of Lagos which prides itself as the University of First Choice and nations’ pride is embroiled in a serious crisis that is threatening its stability.

The crisis reached its peak last Wednesday with the sack of Oluwatoyin Ogundipe as the vice chancellor over alleged misappropriation of funds and gross misconduct.

The institution had announced Ogundipe’s sack during a meeting of the Governing Council of the University held Wednesday at the headquarters of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Abuja.

Genesis of the impasse between Wale Babalakin and Ogundipe BDSUNDAY findings revealed that the frosty relationship between Wale Babalakin, chairman of the University Governing Council, started after the council issued a query in May 2019 to Ogundipe, the university vice chancellor and two of his three deputies, Folashade Ogunsola and Oluwole Familoni.

The investigative committee set up by the council to audit the university’s expenditure in about 18 months, also indicted Rahamon Bello, former vice chancellor of the university; Taiwo Ipaye, former Registrar; Lateef Odekunle, and Lekan Lawal ex-Bursar and his successor respectively; Duro Oni, former -Deputy Vice-Chancellor; Niyi Ayeye and Adelere Adeniran, former directors of works, The query followed the report of a committee led by Saminu Dagari, a lecturer of Chemistry at Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, which audited the UNILAG’s expenditure between May 2017 and September 2018.

The panel comprised Yomi Kasali, Dora Osoata, Adepeju Adefowope, Daniel Asigwuike, Gbenga Adefarakan, Adebayo Olaleye, Adeoluwa Folami and Oladejo Azeez (UNILAG Registrar/Governing Council Secretary) who was cleared of any wrongdoing.

“There was consistent, brazen, manifest and gross mismanagement of university finances by past and current management,” it read in part.

The committee said it discovered contracts were awarded without recourse to due process, payment without valid contracts and approvals, contract overpayment, contract splitting by vice-chancellors and tenders board, over-budgetary spending, frequent official travels and expenditure without due approval by the governing council.

The report accused the university’s internal audit units of gross lapses, dismal failure, and abuse of the institution’s internal control mechanisms.

The committee recommended a monthly or quarterly approval limit for all approving authorities; reorganisation of expenditure control and internal audit units, and that process of revenue and expenditure should be automated for transparency.

It advised the council to sanction those indicted of financial mismanagement and that contractors engaged in janitorial and

Wale Babalakin

Oluwatoyin Ogundipe

maintenance services should be paid outstanding monies and disengaged.

Vice-Chancellors, a representative of the Ministry of Education, one person representing a variety of interests.

Others are four persons appointed by the Senate of the University, two persons appointed by the Congregation and one person appointed by Convocation.

It states that the Vice-Chancellor and other principal officers of the school can be appointed or removed from office. Article 17 under the Constitution and functions of the University and its constituents bodies, listed how the Pro-Chancellor and certain members of the Council can be removed from office.

“If it appears to the Council that a member of the Council (other than an ex-officio member) should be removed from office on the grounds of misconduct or inability to perform the functions of his office, the Council shall make a recommendation to that effect through the Chancellor to the Visitor and if the Visitor, after making such enquires (if any) as he considers appropriate, approves the recommendation, he may, by any instrument on writing signed by him, remove the person in question from office.”

Also, the First Schedule 4 (8) of the Act states,” The Vice-Chancellor may be removed from office by the Visitor after due consultation with the Council and the Senate acting through the Minister of Education.”

The NAAT Chairman, Sulyman Lawal; NASU Chairman, Ajibade Kehinde and SSANU Chairman, Olusola Sowunmi, also voiced their disapproval of the removal of the VC. Sources from the university, while reacting to the decision, criticised the manner for the call for the governing council’s meeting, saying it is illogical for the registrar to issue notice without the consent of the vice-chancellor.

What stakeholders are saying The Federal Ministry of Education in its reaction through its spokesperson, Ben Goong, said the ministry had not been briefed on the removal of Vice-Chancellor.

Goong however, said that the council has the power to hire and fire a Vice-Chancellor. The statement also insisted that due process must be followed in doing so.

The statement read in part: “My dear colleagues, the Federal Ministry of Education wishes to state that it is yet to be briefed on the developments at the University of Lagos regarding the purported removal of the Vice chancellor.

“While the ministry awaits the proper briefing from the university authorities, it is important to reaffirm that council has the power to hire and fire but that due process must be followed in doing so.”

On their part, four labour Unions of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) have condemned the removal of the ViceChancellor, describing it as unjust and illegal.

This is contained in a statement jointly issued at the end of a joint meeting of the four staff unions, last Thursday in Lagos.

The four unions are the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the Senior Staff Union of Universities (SSANU), the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) and the National Association of Academic Technologies (NATTS).

The chairmen, who signed the resolution, include Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Dele Ashiru, Senior Staff Association of Nigeria ASUU-UNILAG Chairman, Dele Ashiru, also said, “We condemn in its totality the purported removal of our Vice Chancellor, Oluwatoyin Ogundipe. We affirm our absolute confidence in the leadership of Toyin Ogundipe as the Vice Chancellor of UNILAG.” What the University act says The University of Lagos Act 1962, stipulates a 14-member Governing Council to comprise the Pro-Chancellor, Chancellor, the vice Chancellor, the two Deputy

Babalakin fires back Wale Babalakin, Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council, University of Lagos says the governing council of the University decision to remove Ogundipe as vice chancellor was in the interest of the students and the financial integrity of the institution.

Babalakin stated that Ogundipe during his tenure as vice chancellor had several acts of wrong doing, gross misconduct, financial recklessness and abuse of office.

Speaking to journalists at the Muritala Mohammed Airport Lagos on Friday, Babalakin said Ogundipe spent the sum of N49 million to renovate the official residence of the vice chancellor without the approval of council.

He further stated that Ogundipe without council approval also permitted the renovation of the current residence of the Bursar to the tune of N41 million.

The pro-chancellor stated that there was clear evidence of consistent, brazen, manifest and gross mismanagement of university finances by the current management led by Ogundipe.

Commenting on the alleged crisis in the university, Babalakin said there was nothing of such, adding that what the public is seeing is the agitation of a vocal minority who are benefiting from the corruption in the university system.

According to him, the vice chancellor was sacked for directly looting the funds of the University and that he had been indicted for forging documents.

Reactions from embattled Ogundipe The embattled Ogundipe, last Thursday led a protest against his removal by the governing council of the school.

Ogundipe, who addressed the union members, said: “I remain dedicated to UNILAG. We are all builders and have all invested so much to this great university. I have been here for 30 years in different capacities. Let’s wait for the directives from the government. I remain a functional member of the union; we are enjoying peace here, let’s remain peaceful.”

BDSUNDAY learnt that Ogundipe has engaged a prominent Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mike Ozekhome to file a suit to challenge his removal from office.

His letter of instruction dated August 12, 2020, and addressed to Ozekhome, was seen by our correspondent on Thursday.

Ogundipe stated in the letter that the act was without due process and contrary to the university’s Act. His instruction to Ozekhome on his official letterhead reads in part, “I hereby formally brief you to institute legal proceedings against the council, pro-chancellor of the University of Lagos, and others based on their illegal and unconstitutional act of purportedly removing me from office as the vice chancellor of the University of Lagos.

The Visitor to the university is the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Background to the cat and mouse game between Ogundipe and Babalakin blew open last February when Babalakin petitioned the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, accusing the Vice Chancellor of running a one-man show in the preparations for the convocation ceremonies of the school.

Meanwhile, less than 24 hours after the governing council of the University announced the removal of Ogundipe as the vice-chancellor of the institution, the council named a replacement, Theophilus Omololu Soyombo as acting vice-chancellor of the institution.

Sunday 16 August 2020

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15 Inside Lagos

Sanwo-Olu’s unforgettable visit to Badagry and intervention in Agric

B

Iniobong Iwok

efore he was elected governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu had visited Badagry several

times.

But the one of penultimate Friday was particularly unique in many ways.

It was indeed, the first time since he mounted the saddle of leadership as the chief executive officer of the former capital city of Nigeria.

It was a heroic welcome for Governor Sanwo-Olu as chieftains and members of the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) as well as the residents of the ancient city of Badagry, trooped out in their thousands to welcome and familirise with him.

Though his scheduled programme was an inspection tour of some facilities and projects in the ancient city, the governor and his team got more than they expected as people of the historic town massed out in large number to express support for the governor and his administration.

The elderly, youths and children in their hundreds lined up in different parts of the town waiving hands and shouting Sanwo-Olu as the governor moved round the city. Security agencies on the roads were not left out as they also saluted repeatedly to greet him.

The people of Badagry, who could not hide their feelings for having the opportunity to see their governor for the first time since his assumption of office on May 29, 2019, poured encomiums on Sanwo-Olu, with placards and banners bearing some inscriptions such as “Sanwo-Olu is our Governor!” “Welcome to Badagry” and “We love Governor Sanwo-Olu!” to express their appreciation and support for the person of the governor and the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration in Lagos State.

As early as 9am of that great day, people had converged on the Avia-Igborosun Organic Farm in Mowo, to welcome the August visitor to Badagry. His arrival was heralded by loud ovation as his convoy drove into the farm. Sanwo-Olu, who dressed in blue jeans, ash colour T-shirt and a jacket with a fez cap to match was accompanied on the visit by his Chief of Staff, Tayo Ayinde; the State Acting Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms. Abisola Olusanya; Special Adviser to the Governor on Tourism, Arts and Culture, Bonu Solomon Saanu and member of

Sanwo-Olu and his entourage

the Lagos State House of Assembly, representing Badagry I, Hon. Ibrahim Layode, among others.

Governor Sanwo-Olu after alighting from his car went straight to meet hundreds of women, men, youths and children as well as APC chieftains and members, who had patiently waited for his arrival at the entrance of the farm. The governor interacted with the people for few minutes before entering the farm for the business of the day.

He was welcomed to the farm by the Permanent Secretary of Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture, Olayiwole Onasanya and management and staff of the Avia Organic Farm. He later took a tour of the 279-hectare Avia Organic Farm, which was acquired by Lagos State Government in 2012 for commercial agricultural project.

The tour reflects Sanwo-Olu’s administration’s special focus on Badagry, one of the five traditional divisions of Lagos State whose mainstay is agriculture, particularly aquaculture.

G o v e r n o r S a n w o - O l u ’s “Greater Lagos” agenda is hinged on a six pillars policy programme tagged T.H.E.M.E.S to deliver good governance to millions of Lagosians. The six pillars are; Traffic Management and Transportation; Health and Environment; Education and Technology; Making Lagos a 21st Century state; Entertainment and Tourism; Security and Governance.

Agriculture falls under the fourth pillar “Making Lagos a 21st Century Economy”. To this end, Sanwo-Olu is not leaving any stone unturned to ensure that his administration achieves

the targeted goals. Therefore, the governor’s pilot agriculture scheme - Lagos Food Production Park - is to take off in Badagry, prompting Sanwo-Olu’s sixhour visit to the town on Friday.

The governor during the tour spoke passionately on the need to revive the Avia Organic Farm, which has been abandoned for some times with some of the facilities already moribund. According to the governor, some of the agricultural projects to be developed for commercial production in the Organic Farm include fishing, poultry, piggery and agro-forestry, among others.

Speaking to journalists after the tour, which lasted for almost two hours, Governor SanwoOlu expressed the readiness of his administration to revive Badagry organic farm to boost food security in the State, adding that the government is fully ready to revive the abandoned farmland for the take-off of the

The Food Production Park, which we are creating across the State, will be a trigger to other value-added agricultural production our citizens can provide

State’s Food Production Park project.

The governor also disclosed that Lagos State would be engaging private sector to secure an investment into the project, which, when completed, would create thousands of direct jobs and improve the wellbeing of the residents.

He said: “I have been fully briefed about this project but I considered it necessary to personally embark on this journey to Badagry in order to take assessment and see what exactly we need to do in terms of intervention. After taking a tour of the project site, what I observed is that the entire project looks more as a job that has not been completed. Therefore, we need to improve on the interventions to the Ministry of Agriculture.

“With very minimal resources, we have seen what the Ministry of Agriculture has done to keep the project afloat. Government will raise the resources and turn around this project to the level it should be. We will need to deploy more resources to revive and scale up all the machinery and systems already put in place. We will complete the project and open it for commercial production.”

The governor said the revival of the Badagry Organic Farm and creation of more food production parks across the State were part of the strategy designed by his government to increase food security level from 20 percent to 50 percent, thereby raising Lagos’ food sufficiency.

He added that the project would give rise to similar agroallied businesses that would open up Badagry’s economy for more growth, while also boosting its tourism business.

“Lagos is a big State in terms of population, but we also can intervene in our food production value chain. What we are also trying to do with the revival of the project is that, we want to produce various agricultural products we can consume internally in order to reduce our dependence on external food sources. The Food Production Park, which we are creating across the State, will be a trigger to other value-added agricultural production our citizens can provide,” he said.

As part of the move to turn around the Organic Farm, Sanwo-Olu promised a total rehabilitation of Igborosun Road that leads to the farm.

After completing the tour of the farm, Governor Sanwo-Olu drove in a long convoy with some party dignitaries, community and association leaders to other parts of Badagry town to inspect some projects.

As the governor’s convoy was heading towards Badagry town, Governor Sanwo-Olu was received with love in different parts of the town as people line up in large numbers beside the road, to catch a glimpse of the governor. During the tour, the Sanwo-Olu ordered his convoy to stop on two occasions to appreciate people who trooped out in large crowd to associate with him. First, Governor Sanwo-Olu, who was moved by the love shown to him by some children on the road shouting “Sanwo-Olu” and raising up placards “We love Sanwo-Olu,” stopped his convoy in the middle of the road to interact with the children. He also stopped his convoy at another location when he saw hundreds of people shouting “Sanwo-Olu” and waving their hands at him along Igborosun Road.

Governor Sanwo-Olu during his tour to the Badagry General Hospital inspected some projects, especially a 105-bed Mother and Child Care (MCC) recently completed by the Lagos State Government in the premises of the hospital.

Speaking during the tour of the hospital, the governor promised that the MCC will be commissioned in September. He also proposed an expansion of the Accident and Emergency Department. The project, he said, will take off in the next nine months.

Governor Sanwo-Olu also visited the Marina area of the Badagry town, where the State Government will be building a modern jetty. The project, according to Sanwo-Olu is part of his administration’s blueprint to promote waterways transportation across the state.

Sunday 16 August 2020

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MY THOUGHTS...

My thoughts...Exactly!

EXACTLY! Shakara KEMI AJUMOBI

I

was going to see a ‘sister’ of mine who has been so dear to my heart and I did not want to go empty handed, so I planned the day before to go to the market to get some snails, fish and so on, so I can season it all in deep, fried pepper and ring onions…I am sorry, I know the description just made your mouth water, but it is part of the gist so enjoy…lol.

I have a customer who I love to buy my snails from because he gives me at a very good price. Besides, he is actually like a brother to me. I rarely take cash with me these days, no thanks to COVID-19, and he is one person who will tell me to transfer.

Even if for reasons of network failure, it doesn’t go through immediately, he would ask me to go, “I trust you, no worries” he often says.

Sometimes, I buy other things in the market and he pays cash while I just transfer to him. So, we have that flow and trust but this particular day, the script flipped.

I got there and he wasn’t around, I usually prefer him selling things to me. So I put a call through and he told me he was nearby, so I decided to wait.

In less than 10 minutes, he arrived, with various items including snails.

I was happy he got some fresh ones.

He quickly began to separate them.

Someone had pre ordered before me so he had to sort the person’s own out, then he attended to me. I got the ones I wanted. It was time to pay and I observed the price had spiked (but

was still much better than others) so I asked “why?”, and he told me that was how he bought it and would not want to sell at a loss.

I wasn’t happy with the amount and thought to pull an “I’m going” on him, “he is my customer, he would call me back” I thought. So, I bought something else just beside his shop and began to leave. I kept telling myself, “He will call me back…he will call me back”.

I kept walking away and kept hoping he would say “Madam, come and take it”, brethren, it did not happen.

I stopped to buy a few other things, knowing I was still in view and he would ask me to come back… brethren, he did not. I walked away until I was out of his sight…brethren, he did not call me back.

When I got to my car, I sat down there for like 10 minutes. I had made up my mind I was going to give my ‘sister’ that gift. I had gotten every other thing I needed but you see those snails, I knew they had to be included because I know she loves snails.

After 10 minutes, I picked up my phone and called him, meanwhile, I was praying he would pick.

Immediately he did, my drama began. As if I wasn’t praying that he should pick “Onuoha” I began, “Am I someone you should treat like that? Do I even deserve such treatment?, so you mean you can actually do that? Is that how you treat your customers?…” and then he responded “Madam…oya come back”.

Immediately he said that, it was like

EDITOR Kemi Ajumobi Email: kemi@businessdayonline.com TEAM: Desmond Okon Osaromena Ogbeide Designed by Aderemi Ayeni

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Sunday16 August 2020

Sunday 16 August 2020 Sunday16 August 2020

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Style temple

they poured water on my heart…but I wasn’t going to let him know I was excited that he asked me to come back…Shakara!

Scene two of the drama. While walking towards him, I began to press my phone like I had something important I was reading…brethren, there was nothing important. I just needed for him to know he wasn’t doing me a favour (but he actually was)…Shakara!

As I got closer to his store, I immediately, using my side eye to browse the floor, quickly checked to see if the ones I selected had been returned to the pack or bought… it was already almost 15 minutes between the time I walked to my car and returned, anything could have happened at that time, but immediately I saw they were still there, I smiled (internally of course, why should Onuoha know that I was happy to return?)…Shakara!

Scene three of the drama. I stood there still pressing my phone, then a call came in and I thought (right on time…time to extend my shakara) so I walked away answering the call and came back. Then I said “Onuoha, let me know on time what you have decided since you said I should come back, I have things to do (Nope! What things? Kemi, you had only the meal to prepare and deliver to your ‘sister’)…Shakara!

He beckoned on me to sit and so I did. I had the time to quickly scan through and saw that they were all intact. There I was still forming ‘upset’. Suddenly, a man came and was about to pick from it “Kemi, don’t talk, don’t sound desperate, you know he mustn’t know you just have to get this snails today” I said to myself and he quickly told the guy “They have been bought”.

Immediately I heard that, the joy in my stomach wanted to burst out “Yes! He is selling them to me” I muttered beneath my breath but No, he doesn’t have to see I am excited…

Shakara!

Scene four of the drama. When the man left, Onuoha began to explain to me what happened when he got to the market where he went to buy the snails to resell, and how he did not intentionally increase the price.

We came to an agreement and the price was still ok so he asked his boys to go and wash them for me.

As they began to break it open, and I saw the size of the snails as they were pulled out of their shells, I was pleased…he watched them washing the snails and said to me “Can you see how big the sizes I am giving you are? Madam you too just admit it, these snails are worth it” and I responded “Big? says who?” (Like he wasn’t saying the truth). I said to myself, “If only he knew that I was not going anywhere without buying those big, yummy snails).

The end! What? You want me to torture you with the process of preparing the meal? Naaaa! I love you that much, I won’t do that… the most important thing is that my shakara worked…please don’t try it, you may not be lucky. …and oh! by the way, Shakara means being petty

F

rom a young age Og Okonkwo had an eye for design and elegance.

S h e l o v e s t o t r av e l and continually finds inspiration for her designs in the different cultures and people she comes in contact with.

Sh e g re w u p su r rou n d e d by extremely creative and stylish women in her family who inspired her from an early age to pursue her dream to be a designer.

The brand aesthetics is a combination of classic yet modern fashion and a play on balance

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BDSUNDAY17

Palm nut soup • • •

between the feminine and edgy.

StyleTemple diffusion ready-towear line is a mixture of structured wearable pieces with a couture edge, clean geometric cuts and shapes with a standout detail. Easy fitted garments that flatter the woman’s body is their signature style.

• •

1/2 Tbsp crushed pepper flakes 1/2 large Red bell pepper 4 cups meat stock or a combination of meat stock and water to make 4 cups 1 1/2 cup chopped spinach I medium size smoked fish deboned and cleaned

OVEN METHOD 1. Wash rice till water runs clear.

Set aside in sieve to drain while you prepare the sauce.

2. Sauté chopped onions in palm oil, add tomato paste, and bouillon powder. Stir to combine.

Kwara First Lady support Woman, children with blue eyes abandoned by husband

INGREDIENTS

4. Pour in the half of meat stock and bring to boil.

•

5. Preheat oven to 400 F

• • •

DESMOND OKON

T

he First Lady of Kwara State and founder of Ajike People Support Centre, O lufolake Abdulrazaq, has presented a cash donation to Risikat Azeez the woman abandoned by her husband because of her blue eyes and those of her children.

The donation which took place in Azeez’s hometown on Saturday 8th August, is to help her surmount her immediate challenges and to fend for her children.

Azeez was also enlisted to take part in the skills acquisition programme of the Ajike People Support Centre, while the children will equally be enrolled in school as schools resume.

The intervention came after a post surfaced on social media about the plight of Azeez and her two daughters were abandoned by her husband Abdulwaisu Omo Dada.

She said her husband who was not comfortable with the fact that her daughters were born with the same blue eyes as hers, started treating her differently and decided to give up on his family.

“When I had my first baby, it b e ca m e d i f f i c u l t t o have a conversation with him,” she said.

Although she now stays with her parents, her ordeal did not start with her husband. She told the media that when she was younger, her parents made her run helterskelter to get her eyes checked to ensure she has a proper vision.

The authorities at school would repeatedly ask for proof whether she was actually their daughter because her eyes do not match those of her parents.

Azeez has suffered stigmatization up to the time of her marriage until the social media post raised awareness about her condition and the unsavoury treatment by her husband due to the rare genetic condition.

In a statement detailing the intervention on Twitter, the First

MEALS TO ENJOY

BY CHICHI UGURU

• • • • • • •

800 g Palm fruits Concentrate 1 can 1 smoked fish cleaned and deboned 1/4 cup ground crayfish 1 Tbsp ground Cameroon pepper 1 Tbsp crushed pepper flakes 1000 g smoked Turkey or beef 1 large Onion chopped Ogiri Okpei or iru 1 Tbsp bouillon powder 3 cups meat stock 1 handful of scent leaves washed and Chopped

INSTRUCTIONS 1. Put smoked turkey in a pot with the meat stock, add chopped onions and season with bouillon powder. Bring to a boil.

2. Add crayfish, Ogiri okpei or iru, Cameroon pepper and crushed pepper flakes stir to combine then turn heat down to medium.

Lady of Kwara State, Abdulrazaq directed that she and her children be made to undergo all health checks to be sure they do not have Waardenburg syndrome or any effects being handled by the commissioner for health, Raji Razak.

Waardenburg syndrome is a group of genetic conditions that can cause hearing loss and changes in colouring (pigmentation) of the hair, skin and eyes.

“Their natural blue eyes are beautiful and are down to genetics.

I have mandated that genealogy be included in the curriculum in early years as well, to be handled by the State Commissioner for Education, Hajia Bisola Ahmed,” the First Lady said.

In addition, the First Lady said while commissioner for education is looking at the best option for public schooling, Oyeyemi Olasunbo, Commissioner for Finance is looking at private schooling options w ith the opportunity for boarding school later on for the children.

“We will choose the best option for the family,” the governor’s wife said.

3. Add the crayfish, smoked fish, Iru, Cameroon pepper, pepper flakes and chopped red bell pepper. Stir to combine.

3. S c o o p i n t h e p a l m o i l concentrate, stir and taste for seasoning. Adjust as needed then Cover pot and let soup simmer till it thickens to the consistency you want.

4. Stir in the Chopped scent leaves and turn off heat.

Enjoy

NATIVE JOLLOF RICE Native jollof rice INGREDIENTS • • • • • • • • • •

1/2 cups parboiled long grain rice 1 large onion chopped 1/2 cup Red Palm oil 2 Tbsp Tomato paste 1 tsp salt 1 tsp bouillon powder 2 Tbsp Fermented Iru (Locust beans).

1 cup okporo dried prawnsremove head and tails 2 Tbsp ground crayfish 1/2 Tbsp ground Cameroon pepper

6. Spray your baking dish with cooking spray 7. Pour washed rice into the baking dish 8. Pour sauce over rice and stir 9. Pour the rest of the meat stock in and stir. Taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly.

10. Add the dried prawns and Cover baking dish tightly with foil.

11. Bake on lower rack of oven for 1 hour 12. Bring out baking dish, fluff the rice then stir the chopped spinach enjoy STOVE TOP METHOD 1. Wash rice till water runs clear.

Set aside Prepare sauce like above but this time, add the meat stock at once.

2. When sauce is ready, turn off heat. Taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly.

3. Pour in the washed rice, add the prawns. Stir to combine.

Taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly.

4. Turn heat back on, cover pot tightly ( you can use foil) and let rice cook on medium heat for 30 mins by this time all the liquid should have been absorbed.

5. Check rice for doneness. Turn off heat, fluff rice then store in the chopped spinach.

Enjoy.

18

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Sunday 16 August 2020

News Feature

Owerri City Chamber chiefs outline path to business boost, industrialisation IGNATIUS CHUKWU & SABY ELEMBA

B

usiness leaders in Imo State seem to have moved beyond lamentation of the numerous afflictions facing businesses and moved to seeking solutions and pointing to how to facilitate industrialisation of the Eastern Heartland.

Investigations and interviews in Imo State by BDSUNDAY team showed that absence of federal projects in the state seems to be the greatest disincentive to investors choosing the state over other states in the SouthSouth and South-East. The next challenge pointed out by most sources is collapse of roads in the state, thus discouraging businesses that would want to drive easily to points.

Industry leaders especially in the Owerri Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (OCCIMA), who suggested ways to boost investment in Imo State, said businesses can thrive if simple things are done.

The Deputy President, Charles Okeke, CEO of Shabron Group, pleaded for rehabilitation of federal and state roads, extension of railway lines through Imo for which Nigeria has taken loans from China, develop Oguta Lake to link with the Atlantic Ocean so as to open the economy of the state to international trade, etc.

The Shabron Group has Shabron Ltd, Mecol Ltd, Jok Box Communications, Optimum Box, etc. with major brand being their partnership with MTN, especially in Mobile Money.

Okeke said there was need for the FG to once in a while site major projects in the state. He talked of need for what he called robust financing schemes. “Discrimination against Imo businesses should be discouraged, though the Igbo spirit that makes our people to strive to survive is what is keeping us,” he said.

The business community decried the death of the only industrial park in the state. Okeke said: “Let me also use this opportunity to highlight the menace of herdsmen. The industrial park has been taken over by herdsmen and their cattle. Those hoping to move into the parks when facilities come can no more hope to do so. I use this opportunity to appeal the FG to move quickly and move out the herdsmen in those places so as to encourage businesses back into those places. As I talk to you now, I cannot even enter into those places.”

The CEO decried poor power supply and exorbitant bills by the Disco in the zone.

“Even in Covid19 era when we were doing nothing, not open

Charles Okeke

the office, but we got a bill of N179,000 where e were paying N30,000 per month. This will give you an idea of what power means.

There is nothing extraordinary that we use here.”

Okeke is into IT even though it was not his area of study. He was once a top BUA Cement magnet.

He is the chairman of University of Ife Alumni Association in Imo State and a national officer.

Attractions Okeke said Imo State is a friendly state with cheap labour and that the people are quite industrious. “Imo State is about the highest in terms of skilled labour in Nigeria; from the universities and the colleges in high numbers. They now salt into menial jobs to survive.”

He further said that Imo was not one of the very bad states in terms of security and so investors can breathe some air. He however warned against the increasing presence of herdsmen and many nagging incidents.

“If the state government can be proactive now and nip it in the bud by working out a way of retraction, the state would be safe, except for some bad boys out of hunger and hunt for jobs that may cause some problems once in a while. If the industrial parks are revived, the young people can find things to do.

Agric sector: Go into piggery

He advised Imo youths to move into the agric value chain and seek out agric projects that do not require massive lands.

“The way to go now is to produce something. Agric comes handsomely here. Piggery happens to be very lucrative. It yields quick income and the food is not costly.

I encourage people to go into it and I have sponsored some persons into it. They are doing well.

You can go into fishery, snailry, etc. Imo may not have large lands for mechanised agric. We cannot talk of large scale farming because of land constraints.”

He went on: “Imo needs the support of federal institutions and banks to support an agric revolution in Imo State to create jobs, rehabilitate many people, etc. It’s not about using keke to deceive people. That is not productive. It is not helping the Imo economy.

The government should find a way of taking these Keke people off the road. The easy money they get is not sustainable. The N2,000 you get in a day will not move you forward neither is the state moving anywhere. Keke will not move Imo State anywhere. There is need for an Imo Economic Summit to plot a new economic path for the state.”

He suggested the creation of what he called an opportunities desk in the state government house to search opportunities

around the world and link these to Imo young people. He also said OCCIMA was developing a position paper on how to move the state forward in industrialisation and investment.

Director-General makes case for business revolution The business community led

by OCCIMA held very deep meetings with the new administration that emerged in the state in May 2019. That meeting held huge hopes for industrial turnaround.

The DG, Grace Egejuru, outlines this; “Conducive environment is what attracts any investor. It includes security. That is what decides the rest. The security perception decides the rest.

“If there is robust policing and policies by the state government on this, the investor will be scared. At least in the day, people should not be harassed. We look up to power system in the state to improve. Business people are totally discouraged. Many have stopped their businesses because of dependence on gas. The whole profit goes into gas.

“Imo is not as big as Lagos and Abuja where little sales will carry you but in Imo, profit is marginal.

If you depend on gas, you will not record profit. This is the biggest discouragement here.

“Multiple taxes: People rush in to ask you to pay for all manner of things including projector, etc.

These taxes or levies discourage businesses. Efforts to engage the Revenue office to agree on taxes in the state proved abortive. Groups keep demanding for revenues of same nature. People did not know what the taxes were meant for. Hopes rose when the truncated administration worked out areas of collaboration with the private sector. We were fully involved in that administration and we hoped to harmonise taxes. No

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Hopes rose when the truncated administration worked out areas of collaboration with the private sector. We were fully involved in that administration and we hoped to harmonise taxes

business person wants to throw profit or money away. There is need to engage the government and know tax policies and what they are used for.”

Egejuru too mentioned areas of road rehabilation and said the short-lived administration had started massive road rehabilitation. “If there is no road, business cannot take roots in Imo State. Let the roads be fixed. FERMA is not doing anything in Imo State. They can tackle Onitsha Road. FERMA merely does shabby thing at bad spots and disappear. Before one month, it washes off.

“It is difficult for an investor with good vehicles to enter the state and before one month, the vehicles go bad and drivers capitalise on that to cheat. If road is very bad, you cannot time your drivers.

“Regulations, laws, due process: In Imo State, there is no rule. People have ugly experiences from touts. It’s a state of pure touting. People barge in and shout at you demanding for money. They demand it like robbery.

There is need for a formal notice and time gap to ask questions.

There should be communication between businesses and the tax agencies. Any person can come with shabby papers to demand taxes and levies. That is the nature of the state. They mount the roads and shabbily collect tax. One way: They put very small signs in remote corners and wait to arrest motorists. There ought to be big boards plus sensitisation so that people would know what to do.

“Engagements: The economy of Imo State did not move ahead because there was no engagement system between the OPS and the government. There was a time the governor called for a meeting and he said something about the Onitsha Road industrial layout and plans to revoke lands there. The OCCIMA wrote back to ask him to hold on and follow due processes.

“You don’t wake one morning to say you are taking over somebody’s land without stating the processes. The late president reminded the government of absence of access roads, no electricity, etc. Companies there usually closed down because of these. You don’t expect the businesses to keep losing. This kind of stopped the governor then. We are still pushing for the government to understand that people need to be motivated to do business. Any amount you want to collect, you make rules about it; why it is paid, how it is paid, who should collect it, accountability clauses, etc. We had expected more investors to come because of signals that things would be better.

Sunday 16 August 2020

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Encounter What visiting investors, business tycoons will not fail to see in Akwa Ibom It is common for non-indigenous business community in any state to see everything wrong in government policies of the host state, believing that they were targeted against the visiting investors. In Akwa Ibom, the story was rather the opposite. Sunday Olie is respected as an elder and honourable, but he is, in fact, a business tycoon, a chief executive officer and the founder of a business line spanning construction, contracting, car dealership, etc, right in the centre of Uyo, the fast rising capital city in south-south Nigeria. If Uyo is openly competing with Calabar, Benin and Port Harcourt as business hub in the oil region, then the likes of Olie would stand shoulder-to-shoulder with business leaders in the region to create business dynasties that would dominate Nigeria in the coming decades like the Lebanese do. Here, IGNATIUS CHUKWU, Regional Editor, BusinessDay, chronicles what Olie, the CEO, president-general of Igbo Community in Uyo, leader of the Non-Indigenes/Wazobia Foundation in Akwa Ibom, and the obvious ambassador of Akwa Ibom business community told him about how outsiders and visiting business tycoons see the emerging economic powerhouse of the Niger Delta.

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Business of investment kwa Ibom is ready to accommodate any type of business. It is a vibrant place. It juts into the sea but it is also the gateway to the famous Canaanland, Calabar and the Garden City of Nigeria, Port Harcourt. Every commodity sells fast here (with per capita income of almost $3,000, one of the highest, for a population of almost 7million people). It is a close-knit state and if you have criminal intentions, you might not last long because everybody knows the next person. A criminal will easily stand out. The people will also keep off you if they perceive your criminal tendencies. I have been here for 26 years.

Major business types outsiders like to invest in include spare parts and motor business. The northern people are joining the south-easterners to do so. See furniture, electronics, household goods, supermarkets, etc. Akwa Ibomites are peculiar people.

They join the visitors to struggle for business including supermarket business. They are competing very well with other tribes.

Everyone can see that Akwa Ibom is one of the most favourable states to non-indigenes You can see that this is one of the favourable states to non-indigenes, unlike some other states where you are extorted when you want to build a house just because you are not an indigene, where they brutalise you if care is not taken. Akwa Ibom is not like that.

All around, you will see nonindigenes doing their businesses.

Anywhere you go and do not find a south-easterner, westerner or northerner, then flee. These groups are many in Akwa Ibom.

You must also know that the south-easterners are development-conscious more than the others. Like the Israelis, they travel all over the world and they want to be comfortable. They try to buy land and develop in order to get the standard they are looking for.

The implication of this is that the south-easterners do not want to cause trouble that would lead to communal clashes. They thrive in stability and they don’t want to flee and leave their property behind unlike some other ethnic groups that can leave over night.

Also, you know that to get loans,

Sunday Olie

you need landed property. So, they first settle down, then get landed property and soon, they can obtain loans to expand and explode.

You can get certificate of occupancy (C of O) in Ikwa Ibom despite not being an indigene. If there is no C of O, it’s not because you were a non-indigene. It may be because of level of development. You may not get it fast but you will get it. Also, there are other documents that you could acquire and move on. Time to get your land papers would depend on how your agent pushes it. It is not easy anyway for me to know the specific time it takes in Akwa Ibom State to get out a certificate of occupancy.

All I know is that I have not got complaints about non-acquisition of certificate of occupancy. There are other papers like Deed of Conveyance that one can obtain and work with. The state is still young to achieve advancement in all areas. The change of governments/administrations seems to have slowed down the land paper

issuance processes.

Some people may have been encroaching government lands and this creates problem in processing their papers. Many things can cause delay. There are those who could buy disputed lands or land earmarked by government for certain things. Getting land papers for such parcels may not be possible. The government has to be careful so they do not award land papers to wrong people.

No threat of South Africans in the supermarket business here There were fears some years past that South African mega investors were trying to muscle out local operators as noticed in bigger cities such as Port Harcourt. There was a time such tension came up even in Uyo, but I discover that there is a lull in that type of threat.

Akwa Ibom is new hub because there is no threat against supermarket operations.

Also, the rich and the poor can mix freely due to the kind of government policies here. The government encourages businesses

with moderate taxes, levies, etc.

No tension over taxes The government consults the business community in the area of revenue and levies. There is no tension. Investors prefer this place.

This has made the state to witness accelerated development.

I score Akwa Ibom 75 percent, but no place is totally free If a business person cries out to us, we take it up promptly. Major cases come to us (Igbo Community and Wazobia Foundation).

Here, phone calls solve problems.

Nobody has been oppressed because he is not an indigene, though, there is no place without issues. We care about majority and that is why we can score the state up to 75 percent in accommodating non-indigenes.

Areas to improve upon I really want the state government and LGAs of Itu, Ipam (four days market) etc to check the boys in the area of tax and revenue collection. Many things are going wrong there with both the indigenes and non-indigenes.

Their aggressive revenue drive is worrisome. Let the local government chairmen look up and sit up.

Non-indigenes have not been targeted We have not seen any humiliation when business issues crop up.

There is no humiliation irrespective of where you are coming from.

Any matter that crops up between an indigene and non-indigene, they would look into it judiciously. The governor warns against tribalism.

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The government consults the business community in the area of revenue and levies.

There is no tension. Investors prefer this place

He proves it at any given time.

During the palliative matter, he carried along both indigenes and non-indigenes.

On rent and arbitrary increases, the small man will always cry that the big man is oppressing him. I want to emphasise that I lived in Port Harcout, Plateau, etc and now in Uyo, but I want to say that landlords in Uyo cannot be compared to landlords in other places. It is mild here. They do not go behind and eject a tenant. It is not rampant here. In other places, the landlords will go behind you and eject you (collect money from a higher bidder and eject you).

Uyo is becoming like Jos where every big man wants to build (Utilities: Water, light, sanitation, etc) If you know Plateau State very well, it is called the home of generals. Every big man then wanted to build a house in Plateau State. That is exactly how Akwa Ibom is today.

Every man who knows the value of security wants to build a house in Akwa Ibom, right from the time of Victor Attah through Godswill Akpabio now to Udom Emmanuel.

They each pursued security as a major policy. This has cumulatively created peace in the state.

Electricity supply has really improved compared to what the situation was in the past. Attah did well in this area though he could not complete his vision concerning electricity. Akpabio tried his best despite not completing his projects too. Now, there is a huge effort (double improvement) in the power sector.

Water: Most families want to have borehole because water is easy to dig up here through borehole. Instead of N3million to do one borehole in some south east states, it’s about N150,000 here.

So, most families simply do theirs.

Appeal: It’s in govt’s interest to reduce land fees to non-indigenes Let the Akwa Ibom State government try more to bring power supply to 90 percent availability.

Also, let the government help in land documentation processes.

Government should charge nonindigenes less to process land papers because the indigenes have more leveraging factors.

The non-indigene is coming to develop your place, so his fees should be less. It is your land the outsiders are developing. (They will never take away the building when going.)

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Sunday 16 August 2020

Sunday Interview Buhari administration should not mortgage Nigeria - Okafor Bishop Goddy Okafor, chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), South-East Chapter, in this interview with GODFREY OFURUM, bares his mind on the worsening insecurity in the country, alleged marginalisation of the South-East geo-political zone and other national issues. Excerpts:

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hat’s your opinion on the incessant killing of Nigerians in Southern Kaduna?

Incessant killing of Nigerians in Southern Kaduna is disturbing.

We are one people and we believe that we are one nation, but for these persistent killings going on in Southern Kaduna to keep occurring without the Federal Government (FG) doing something drastic to stop it, is disturbing. So, we are beginning to ask questions; is it that the Federal Government of Nigeria does not know what to do to bring peace to Southern Kaduna and stop the killings or they do not have the political will to stop it? These are pressing questions.

Are you saying there’s no enough action by FG to stop the killings by bandits?

These people that are being massacred, day after day in Kaduna are fellow Nigerians.

Federal Government owes it to them as a duty to protect them.

The protection of lives and property is the responsibility of the government.

Every time there is killing; we blame it on some bandits. So, we keep asking, are these bandits human beings or spirits? If they are human beings, as we all have been made to understand, why can’t our law enforcement agents go after them?

Nigeria is a great country, but if we keep allowing things like this to persist, it will throw everyone into confusion and one will be wondering and asking, do I really belong here?

There is no way to explain why all these killings are going on in Southern Kaduna. Could it be that someone is interested in possessing land, belonging to Southern Kaduna people, so they want to wipe them out and take over their land? So many questions need answers.

Are the killings raising doubts among Nigerians on FG’s commitment in protecting them?

Let the Federal Government prove to Nigerians that there is no government connivance in these killings. Let them prove that FG is not in any way in support of what is happening in Southern Kaduna. Everyday bandits with AK-47 will go into Southern Kaduna and kill people and burn their houses.

They will finish and go freely and nothing will happen. When the Southern Kaduna people, who are being killed say let us try and defend our land and few

Goddy Okafor

of their men pick sticks, cutlasses or even dane gun, to scare away their invaders, they are the people the government will go after. This is disturbing and South-East CAN has become uncomfortable with the killings and we are calling on the Federal Government to do their best to stop it.

What is the solution to the situation in Southern Kaduna?

Action is the solution. When government is keeping quiet on things like this, they are simply telling the citizens that ‘you are on your own’. See, what they are telling every citizen, defend yourselves against bandits, but if you are found with a stick or cutlass you will go in for it. Meanwhile, someone, who is moving about with AK-47 is free and nobody will go after him. The solution will be for the Federal Government to take drastic action to stop these so-called bandits and killer herdsmen. The Governor of Kaduna State once said that he had meeting with those evil blood suckers, destroying lives in Kaduna and even settled them at a time. So, if they know them, if they can hold meeting with them, why can’t they arrest them? Why

can’t they do something drastic to stop these killings? Nigerians should no longer be massacred on the altar of religion or tribal differences. I have a farm; one day, the farm manager invited me to the farm to see what’s happening there. I was optimistic that I was going to see something good from my farm. But when I got there, I saw how herdsmen brought their cows and damaged everything. Even as we tried to fence the place, they broke into the farm and forcefully moved in their cows. One is helpless here.

Who do we call on, and who do we run to? You want us to grow food, but you can’t help us secure what we put on our farms. This is really disturbing.

Can the call by the National Assembly for the President to sack the Service Chiefs, be part of the solution to the killings?

This is not the first time the National Assembly is making such a call. If you watch our President’s body language, you’ll see that he’s not thinking along that line and that’s disturbing. You ask yourself, is he waiting for everyone to die? Perhaps, the people who are dead, as far as he’s concerned

are not Nigerians. If the President cannot listen to the National Assembly, at least, he should listen to Nigerians and sack these Service Chiefs. We still have intelligent people in this country that can turn things around if given the opportunity to serve. Why should the Service Chiefs remain there, while things have gone totally wrong? Nigerians had so much confidence in this President, when he was about to be elected.

That was why they gave him massive support. We are still waiting for General Mohammadu Buhari to show us that he’s still the same man Nigerians voted for.

Do you foresee changes in Nigeria’s health sector postCovid-19?

My worry is the rate at which our good and qualified doctors are leaving Nigeria for greener pastures in other countries. The Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) has cried out to the Federal Government on several occasions that our best hands are leaving this country for better opportunities. Should Federal Government keep quiet and allow them to continue leaving what will be the future of this country?

So, when I look at the rate at which our doctors are leaving this country, I get worried. We all are here seeing what is happening in this coronavirus era. Government that could not build one standard hospital, because of Covid-19, every state suddenly woke up and we are now in a hurry to have Isolation Centres everywhere. My question is, after Covid-19 what next? Personally, I can’t blame the doctors for leaving Nigeria.

But if we lose all our good hands when we fall ill, who will take care

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Nobody will ignore where things are easy to remain in a place that is totally unpredictable. Nigerians are suffering and it pains me

of us? Government should listen to NMA and keep the best doctors we have with us here. If they are saying that the condition of service here isn’t favourable, then government should listen to them and improve on that. If you know that when you stay in Nigeria, you’ll be asked to cut down an Iroko tree with razor blade, but when you get into Cotonou or Ghana, serious provisions are made for such, there’s no way you will remain in Nigeria to suffer.

Nobody will ignore where things are easy to remain in a place that is totally unpredictable. Nigerians are suffering and it pains me.

There is an upsurge in crime involving youths; where are we getting it wrong?

When I look at our youths, something keeps telling me that the Federal Government has no interest in giving our children good direction and hope. We have existed as an independent country for over 50 years. I’m a Pastor and I’ve visited many countries of the world and whenever I come back to this country, I look at my children and look at the children of my members and I know that living in Nigeria is not easy. I visit our universities and preach there.

If you are a leader and you can’t give people good direction, they will try to take another angle.

Everyone is left to himself. Go to our communities and see how our youths are going deeper and deeper into cultism and drugs and you will begin to ask, what’s happening? Our youths graduate from different universities without jobs. They walk our streets with no vision and nothing to give them the assurance that their future is assured. This has increased the level of criminal activities our youths are getting into. The other time one of our youths was arrested in Dubai and people were saying all kinds of things about him. Blame him till tomorrow, there are still such young men growing up on daily basis. What’s the future of this country? What assurance to these youths that tomorrow will be better from what’s happening today?

It’s obvious that most Nigerian youths now see crime as the only option to escape hardship; any message for them?

You see, crime is not and can never be an option. Nobody should consider it as solution for any bad situation. My message to our youths is simple; you don’t have to be a criminal or go into internet fraud or yahoo to succeed in life. Our youths should be careful. A good name is better than all the riches in the world.

Sunday 16 August 2020

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Travel At home with nature at Afi Mountain Sanctuary Obinna Emelike

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onsidering the realities of our time, many would-be tourists are shelving dream vacations in choice destinations across the world, especially this summer. The sad reality, due to the coronavirus pandemic, is opening huge opportunities in the domestic tourism front. Now, many are beginning to see old attractions around them with new eyes.

One of such attractions, a prime one though, yet within, is the Afi Mountain Sanctuary.

With an over 100 kilometers journey from Calabar, and about 30 kilimeters from Ikom, the Afi Mountain Sanctuary is truly an adventure even from the point of conceiving the idea of a visit.

The only concern for visitors on the way to the sanctuary is safety on the rough terrain, especially up to the laid-back mountain sanctuary, which is aptly refuge for wildlife adventure.

The sanctuary is one of the few places in Nigeria that can be genuinely called unspoilt. Its scenery possesses a truly breathtaking natural beauty with rare animal and plant species on offer, exciting wildlife games, spectacular rural settlements and numerous valleys and mountains to either see or conquer.

The chattering by the animals, sweet melodies rendered ceaselessly by wild birds, the whistling by the leaves of wild trees that unleash natural air by so doing, the clapping and resonating echoes by waterfall and rivers in a rush to empty into the Bano River, and the sighting of wildlife community, especially monkeys in acrobatic display, all welcome man back to the wild where he once belonged.

As you go further into the wild, it takes little or no time to discover that the excesses of modern life do not seem to have taken root here and travellers are welcomed as honoured guests by Mother Nature itself.

No doubt, the sanctuary truly holds a million thrills for both the conservation conscious and the adventurous mind.

It is home to Chimpanzees, Gorillas and Drill Monkeys, and more than 250 species of birds recorded, including the red-headed rockfow, but is the least visited despite its pristine and rich ecotourism potentials.

Top among the reasons to visit the sanctuary is just to get closer to our original world and meet the apes; our half brothers, as biologists insist.

You can actually play with the

Guests cabin at the sanctury

Canopy walkway at Afi Mountain Sanctuary apes with less guidance or take pleasure in feeding the orphaned chimpanzees as some adventureminded visitors do from a special platform.

Nestled at the foot of Afi Mountain, the drill was designed to serve as the impetus for a local conservation initiative.

Drill Ranch is also home to many orphan chimpanzees moved from the Calabar Drill Ranch before the age of between 6 and 8. As man’s closest relative, the chimpanzees add greatly to visitor education by stimulating interest and sympathy for wildlife.

Created out of the Afi River Forest Reserve specifically for the purpose of Cross River gorilla, monkey and wildlife conservation, Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary contains one of the largest remaining forest blocks outside of the Cross River National Park. On the western flank of the mountain is a large grassland roost of European barn swallows reputed to be one of the largest in Africa, at times containing up to 20 million birds.

Of course, there are basic accommodations for visitors to seek out these unusual but beautiful creatures with their ridged muzzles, grey hair, short tails, red-and-blue hindquarters, in large enclosed patches of forest.

Amidst the natural environment full of trees and vegetation are enclosures containing wildlife on rehabilitation and grown ones

roaming about freely to visitors delight. You can see and fete as many monkeys, chimpanzees, listen to the beautiful rendition of wild birds and trail crocodiles in their natural pools.

On a typical visit, the enclosure of boisterous chimps will usually find their heaps of fun throwing things at you - dust, stones, bits of coconut, name it.

The younger chimps stay in cages next to ones containing adult male and female chimps, as the staff painstakingly nurse and hope these would form a new family unit.

The ‘baby’ chimps seemed fascinated by visitors (or linked humans with attention and food).

The fun is that visitors are allowed to play with them through the fencing. But the conservation conscious go as far as feeding them. The older chimps were fed some coconuts, which they broke open to drink the juice and eat the flesh. It is visitors’ delight and great watching them do this, as the chimps knew exactly what they were doing, ripping off the husks, breaking the coconuts open on rocks, checking all the time to see how cracked they were so as not to lose too much juice.

The drill’s a million in one thrill will beat your imagination and expectations. Besides seeing the animals, there are beautiful walks in the rain forest to the canopy walkway and beyond to the pools and waterfalls of the Bano River coming straight off the mountain,

making a very refreshing dip.

You can buy native and fruit tree seedlings from the demonstration tree nursery that illustrates agroforestry techniques.

It is also bird waters haven. Afi Mountain is listed as an ‘Important Bird Area’ for Nigeria, and the migratory swallow roost at Boje is one of the largest in Africa. Birdwatchers are welcome, but mistnetting is not permitted except by special arrangement with the state wildlife authority.

A visit to nearby villages, Buanchor and Katabang – each just about 5 km from camp - provides additional escape. Visitors will find the villages very friendly as excellent palm wine, bush meat and native crafts are available all year round.

The six guest cabins at Drill Ranch, each with a private deck, also provide panoramic view of the mountain, looming above the largest drill enclosure. The cabins are fully screened but open to the air on all four sides. From your comfortable bed you can watch the drills climbing up to 35 meters in the trees. Guests are charged on a ‘per person, per night’ basis, regardless of the number of cabins or beds used. There are rollaway beds for children which can be prepared in any cabin. Bedding and towels are provided. Cooking is in a shared facility with Drill Ranch senior staff that live in camp.

All cooking utensils are provided,

A wildlife community at Afi Mountain Sanctuary

and all guests must bring their own food and drinking water. Warm beer and soft drinks are available from the nearby villages. There is also a place to camp and a site for overland trucks to set up is being developed.

Kache Bano Canopy Walk, installed nearby by the Cross River State Tourism Bureau, is a world class rainforest canopy experience. It is an easy hike from Drill Ranch camp and is the longest and highest canopy walkway in Africa. For those who have visited the canopy walkway at Kakum National Park in Ghana, you will be interested to know that the Kache Bano Walkaway was built by the same people but is far more sophisticated in terms of design and materials. It is a beautiful and exciting experience.

However, the Drill Ranch is the largest private employer in Boki, providing alternative incomes to mostly young people who might otherwise practice slash and burn agriculture, hunting or logging.

Recently, Drill Ranch has emerged as a popular eco-tourism destination helping support the project, and attracting positive attention of government to the potentials and needs of the area. Ecotourism was developed as a partnership between Pandrillus and the Cross River State government who supported the construction of guest cabins and installed a world-class rain forest canopy walkway nearby.

In 2001, President Olusegun Obasanjo visited Drill Ranch Afi Mountain, the only conservation program or protected area he visited in Nigeria during his eight years in office. His visit added tremendous value to wildlife and forest conservation in the minds of the local people, and the nation as a whole.

Overnight accommodation or camping at Drill Ranch per person (cabin and bedding, shower, among others) per night goes from N4,000 while children under age 10 sharing cabin with parents per night goes from N3,000. But unassisted camping (water, shower only) per night goes for N1,000 while guide for hikes per day goes from N1,000.

Before you go, remember that the Drill Ranch at Afi Mountain was not primarily designed as a tourism destination – it is a working wildlife project at which you are a guest. The animals come first and foremost and daily project operations and unexpected events must sometimes take precedence over visitors’ activities.

How to get there!

Depending on the season, you may need a 4-wheel drive, but camp can usually be accessed if your vehicle has enough power, good tires and clearance. Weight limit on bridges and culverts is 3 tons per axle.

From the south, move on till Ikom onto the Obudu Road, drive 56 km north to a dirt road on your left (10 km after Abo Ogbagante).

There is a police post and a sign reading: “Forestry Commission – Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary”.

From the north, go south from Kwande in Benue State to Obudu town. From there move on along the Ikom Road 59.7 km, or 55 km south from the Obudu Cattle Ranch and Bebi Airstrip turn-off. About 4 km after Kanyang #1 village, find the track to Katabang on your right heading west. This is the Katabang Junction Police Post. It is about 4 hours drive from Calabar and 1.5 hours from Obudu Cattle Ranch.

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Sunday 16 August 2020

TheWorshipper ‘Nigeria needs government with mandate of reconstruction for change’ Apostle Ngozi Oluwagbemiga, associate pastor with Famous Gospel Proclaimers Church, Akute, speaks on issues affecting the nation as churches in Ogun State reopen after weeks of lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic. Excerpts by SEYI JOHN SALAU Churches in Ogun State opens this Sunday, how expectant is the church? he Greatest Commandment: ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind’ and ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’ ( Ma t t h e w 2 2 : 3 6 - 4 0 ) ; Paul’s admonition to the Philippians: ‘Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others,”(Philippians 2 : 4 ) a n d a l s o Pa u l ’s encouragement to the church at Rome: ‘Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer,’ (12:9, 12), all these and many more shall be in high demand on the church, especially in Ogun State as we reopen this Sunday, August 16, 2020.

As all hands remain on deck to ensure the fight against Covid-19 becomes a thing of the past by creating and implementing a ‘Reopening Team’ within the church to guide the process of reopening that will suit each local setting, we welcome the timely consideration on the part of Ogun State government to allow the church to reopen gradually believing that soon reopening will be completely done so that the church can exercise its total freedom to run all programmes.

The church should have been treated as part of ‘essential services’ from the start because she provides spiritual strength that

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makes the world go round, in as much as we consider the injustice exercised towards the church in this country, the church needs to do everything right and allow uninterrupted process in keeping covid-19 attacks away from its members promoting nation building.

Just when we needed it the most, it’s happening - our nation is in economic mess already and becoming a living hell for most families; so, it’s actually timely the church comes in now because the only system that can control human mind is in the roles that spiritual institutions plays. We expect total trust from the Ogun State government; they should trust the power and strength of the church coming together, they should not chase the church with any form of injustice anymore so that we can provide the collaboration expected.

It should not be a time for any task force to come disturbing our gatherings as it’s happening in Lagos, just as the mosque was never challenged or disturbed in their services. Through faith in God’s mercies, we are super expectant, especially for the best.

Last week reopening of churches in Lagos was marked with low turnout in some areas and anxiety among worshippers; how do you intend to manage expectations from worshippers?

Who said Lagos churches had low turnout? Lots of services had up to 3-5 shifts; remember for Lagos it has to be 50percent of former congregation. Worshippers

Apostle Ngozi Oluwagbemiga

were all excited for a great come back together as one big obedient family. There is no fear in our hearts and as for those in churches in Ogun State; God is in control already, the best of God’s kingdom is about to emerge. Our come back and people management shall be the assignment of the Holy Spirit through us His ministers.

Apart from the guidelines given by the government, what other things have you put in place?

As I said earlier, the church has its system and has put in place its own monitoring team within itself; this pandemic period has proven the church to be law abiding institution, this includes fighting this pandemic all the way from

our homes; therefore, adherence to government and church guidelines shall be total because we love the people and don’t want anyone sick. Let me add here that we shall record more healings and no more deaths in Jesus name.

What lessons are you taking away from the lockdown?

We m u s t a l l b e in readiness for the unprecedented at all times, the great attacks on earth is that attack that happens to man unexpectedly and suddenly; with this said the first lesson is that man should learn that God rules this world and can allow whatever He wants to allow to happen. Secondly, this world has an end soon, lockdown will soon be shutdown to human

existence including those that can create viruses and its victims; so, this pandemic is a sign of what is yet to come and it leaves us with a call to preparedness; productiveness in the mindset of leaders; persuasiveness to follow God through Jesus Christ; prayerfulness; prudence and prioritising loving others as yourself. Thirdly, also reducing stress is good for everyone, nobody is indispensable.

Fo u r t h l y, t h e w a l l s around us quarantined us within wherever we were; we have now learnt to blend with others.

Covid-19, I believe is God’s way of telling us: ‘Only God can save humans in their humanity nature’.

Fifthly, many people are now working or earning or reading right now from their homes due to the coronavirus pandemic.

That’s another window of strategising in solving economical challenges.

Ultimately, the greatest lesson that Covid-19 can teach humanity is that we are all in this together.

That economic challenge you mentioned was visible during the lockdown; has the church invested enough in its people?

The greatest investment the church can put on its congregation is the word of God interpreted correctly through teaching and that empowerment is to bring alive the end times realities and kingdom standard approved for the followers of Jesus Christ. This, many

priests/pastors have failed due to pressures and we shall be working harder at achieving ‘perfecting the saints’ this time around b e c a u s e o u r Sa v i o u r cometh. The church will adapt this change that I promise the world, no fear but our faith will win.

Insecurity in Nigeria has been a recurring challenge; any advice for government?

The government should sit down and ask themselves, what is the cause of insecurity? The solution is in the correct answer of this golden question. Also, be sincere to identify the leadership factors to insecurity; the religious factors; population growth factors; priorities to tribalism activities’ factors and of course, the spiritual factor. Hence, my advice is this: A new government and system that will take this nation back to its source should arise with a mandate of reconstruction for change; secondly, insecurity is a force, God has power over those forces. Nigerian government should stop ruling Nigeria from outside Nigeria thereby functioning with confused mind and running another country’s agenda that does not fit Nigerian people. There is the Nigeria Agenda for Nigerians, once the right size of clothing is put on its rightful owner, it fits and the glory shines.

The Nigeria problem is in its foundation and you should know that foundational principalities are tough to deal with in solving any life problems; remember that.

Building positive mental attitude takes centre stage at ‘Fearless Concert 2020’ Josephine Okojie

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im Godfrey, multiple award-winning gospel artiste, has urged Nigerians to develop a positive mental attitude in the wake of the

Covid-19 pandemic which has battered global economic growth.

He says that the economic fallout from the virus outbreak has led to job losses, noting that with a positive mental attitude by citizenry, Nigeria can easily overcome

the difficult moment of the pandemic. As a result, Godfrey is set to organise a free virtual concert for Nigerians, tagged, the ‘Fearless Concert 2020’ with the theme ‘The fight of my Life’ scheduled to hold August 23.

According to him, the

annual event could not have come at a better time, urging stakeholders in the entertainment industry to embrace the moment to organise virtual events that will serve the dual purpose of entertainment and dissemination of positive messages.

The gospel singer disclosed that other artistes who have volunteered to perform in the free concert as part of the contribution to lifting the spirit of Nigerians include Panam Percy Paul, JJ Hairston, Dr. Tumi, and Sunny Badu.

The Fearless Annual Concert was initiated in 2016 as a platform to encourage Nigerian youths to live Godly, overcome fear, and resolutely commit to becoming role models through hard work. This year’s event is the fifth in the series.

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TheWorshipper Inspiration With Rev. Yomi Kasali

info@yomikasali.com

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heard my father in the Lord say something a few years ago to me, he had mismanaged his body by driving it too hard and then broke down with a terrible illness, he of course recuperated and was fine. When we were talking, he told me to always ‘Manage My Body’ very well by doing certain things which I intend to share with us all today.

That equally reminds

Managing your body me of my conversation with one of my staff who believes I can be ‘driven’ like a young twenty something year old man by doing multiple services, meetings, writings and just jumping around without listening to my body, that is one thing we all do very well, ‘thinking less of everyone’s health but only ours.’ I had to tell her to let me be a good manager, not office manager but my body-manager.

Our Lord Jesus also admonished the disciples to do the same thing, and I make bold to say, He must have been doing that (managing His Body) while on earth hence when he noticed that the apostles where living recklessly, He told them to take some time out, take a break from daily routine, take some rest and leave the crowded scene to hide somewhere alone and apart from the people.

‘And He said unto them, Come Ye yourselves apart into a deserted place and REST a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat’ (Mark 6 v 31).

The above scripture is amazing and reveals the

Revd John Okesiji for internment August 21

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he final obsequies of Revd John Adegoke Okesina Okesiji, age 92, who died on Sunday, 5 July has been announced by the family.

Revd Okesiji was born on Sunday, 19 August, 1928 in Okeho, Oyo State and was an ordained minister of the gospel as a Baptist Pastor and made laudable contributions to the Nigerian Baptist Convention at large.

The Reverend Gentleman took over the pastorate of the First Baptist Church, Okelerin, Ogbomoso from January 1968 to December 1998. To the glory of God, he had a fulfilling ministry while in the church.

Besides spending the last 21 years plus in retirement, he took to counseling and mentoring people. He was an

Revd John Okesiji

avid person who did not take healthy living for granted.

He exhibited uncommon dedication to his family, his denomination and his communities- Okeho, Oyo, Ogbomoso and Oyo State at large.

The obsequies is as follows; 19 August, a Service of Songs will be held in his honour at First Baptist Church, Isokun Oyo; 20th of August, Christian Wake at the First Baptist Church, Okelerin, Ogbomoso and on Friday, 21 August, funeral service and interment at the First Baptist Church, Okelerin, Ogbomoso, Oyo State.

He had the opportunity of pastoring these churches: Iwofin Baptist Church, Ogbomoso, 1953; First Baptist Church, Agurodo in 1954; Irepodun Baptist Church, Iware Road, 1956; Immanuel Baptist Church, Akeetan, Oyo town December 1958January 1959; Alaafia Oluwa Baptist Church, Fiditi, 1959- 1960; Ori-Oke Baptist Church; Oke Isoko Baptist Church, 1961-62; First Baptist Church, Isokun, Oyo, 28th December 1963, where he was inducted into the full gospel ministry on January 19, 1964. He left the church in December 1965. First Baptist Church, Isia, Okeho June- December 1967.

our minds with healthy information by reading good books, educating our mind with great information, we should also give our Bodies good treats by eating good Healthy meals. Did You notice Jesus said, ‘...and they had no leisure so much as to eat.’

work ethic in the camp of the Master, they were hardworking people, very driven and weren’t resting enough, the Lord had to instruct them to Take a Break and Rest a while from daily work and routine. This is what I want to Inspire you all on today. Manage your Bodies.

7 Ways to manage your bodies Listen to your body: There are many people that don’t listen to their bodies but only their hearts.

They allow their hearts to drive them to a Breaking Point and then fall sick while some even lose their lives through cardiac arrest etc. The Human Body is designed like a Vehicle that

gives you signs when things aren’t well with it, a little head ache here, a back ache, some feverish symptoms etc. learn to Listen To Your Body and you will manage it well.

Take a break: The Human Body is the major vessel to express your passions and dreams of the heart, so don’t over drive it by not Resting the Body regularly. That is the beauty of Sleep and why God created it for us all. Every man is meant to Sleep daily, and Rest usually occurs when some of us Sleep.

Manage Your Body by Taking a Break regularly.

Eat good food: The human body also needs good meals to ensure healthy living, just like some of us feed

Relax with leisure: The Body should be managed by engaging it in something relaxing and entertaining, the brain sends the right signal to the body when it’s entertained hence the reaction is different from when it’s working. Like when we laugh, we live longer and enjoy the moments. Relax more often and don’t overwork your heart by looking for money like it’s the whole essence of life.

Take medication when necessary: This is a very crucial part of my thought today, I know most Preachers won’t tell you this but there is absolutely nothing wrong with taking medication when necessary in the process of managing your Body. Take a pain killer if you must, take your vitamins to recuperate and so on.

Do some exercise: The Bible tells us that Bodily Exercise Profits a Little (1 Tim 4 v 8), so there is wisdom in ensuring that your Body stays strong and fit. Imagine a vehicle that is parked for weeks without someone starting the engine to ensure the oil circulates within...it might develop a bigger fault. Take a 30 minute walk daily on a minimum, it’s very heathy and makes you fitter.

Read the word: Now this is my personal responsibility as a pastor, the Bible tells me that the Word of God is also good for the Body and has a way of working for the strength. ‘My son, attend to my words, incline thine ears unto my sayings... for they are life unto those that find them and HEALTH TO THEIR FLESH’ (Prov. 4 v 20-22).

I hope you have been Inspired...Shalom.

Be Inspired!

Rev Yomi Kasali is Senior Pastor, Foundation of Truth Assembly (FOTA), Surulere, Lagos.

NEWS Abia maize growers’ boss advises youths on skills acquisition UDOKA AGWU, Umuahia

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lement Uhie, chairm a n o f Ma i z e Growers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria, Abia State chapter, has advised youths in the state to develop interest in acquisition of gainful skills.

Uhie, who gave the advice in Ikwuano, Abia State during the burial ceremony of the late Ezeonyeoma Mark which took place at All Saints Methodist Church, Oboni Upa, Ikwuano LGA, also charged women in the society to be good ambas-

sadors of their homes and communities.

He disclosed that his interest in Agriculture was further developed because of the training he received from Madam Ezeonyeoma Mark, who in her life time was a merchant in cocoa, cassava and palm oil businesses.

The Abia Maize farmers’ boss equally hinted that several youths were brought up by the late agric produce dealer, Ezeonyeoma and urged Abia women to preserve her legacy.

“Yes, she was my father’s elder sister. She was a great business woman who spe-

cialised in cocoa, palm oil and cassava processing and marketing and am around to tell you that I grew up studying her. She was not just industrious, she was a great home builder, caring and humble.

Women and youths of today have a lot to learn from her.

Our youths should develop interest in agriculture and other skills”, he said.

Uhie also used the occasion to point out that members of Maize Growers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria, Abia State chapter had been lined up by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to benefit from Central Bank’s Anchor

Borrowers Agric scheme, to be financed through Ecobank PLC. In his sermon during the funeral service, the priest in charge of All Saints Methodist Church, Oboni Upah, Peter Emenike extolled the virtues of Madam Ezeonyeoma Mark who died at the age of 100. He added that Ezeonyeoma was a great Ambassador of the church and a selfless member of her community. The priest however, berated some elders in various communities for championing the course of hatred even as he warned Nigerian youths to shun drug abuse.

Singer, Mr Eazi, on CNN African Voices

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f r i c a n Vo i c e s Changemakers, the Globacomsponsored magazine programme on CNN International, this weekend hosts Nigerian singer and songwriter, Mr Eazi, as special guest.

The artiste whose real name is Oluwatosin Ajibade was born in Port Harcourt, Nigeria in 1991. He later relocated to Ghana where he studied Mechanical En-

gineering at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi.

He started his music career in 2012 with the release of his rhythm and blues single entitled “Pipi Dance”. The song was very successful, especially online, and this led him to recording other tracks such as “Skin Tight” which featured Ghanaian star, Efya, in 2015. He also collaborated with Ghanaian R&B star, Sarkodie, Lil Kesh and Burna

Boy on other songs that were equally big hits.

Mr. Eazi followed up in 2017 with the release of the mixtape, Life Is Eazi, Vol. 1: Accra to Lagos which featured several Nigerian performers including Big Lean, Tekno, Phyno and DJ Cuppy.

The album contained singles like “Leg Over” and “Tilapia” which became instant hits with music lovers across the African continent.

Viewers will learn from

him the trajectory of his music career in Nigeria and Ghana and how he pioneering Banku music which is a mix of Ghana highlife and Nigerian rhythms.

African Voices Changemakers comes up on DSTV Channel 401 on Saturday at 9.00 p.m. and on Sunday at 4.30 a.m., 7.30 a.m., 12.30 p.m. and 7.30 p.m. The programme will be repeated on Monday at 5.30 a.m. on the same channel.

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SundayBusiness Rush for hybrid seedlings in Nigeria Food & Beverages With Ayo Oyoze Baje

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lose observers of the fast exploding modern, hi-tech agricultural practices would note that both seasoned and amateur farmers are currently interested in having access to early maturing, diseaseresistant fruits with bumper harvest. Research findings as published by West Coast Seed, Prezi.com, Aditi Raj, Plant Breeding: www.biologydiscussion.com and wikipedia offer answers to several questions posed by eager investors in this sub-sector.

Such questions include how hybrid seeds are produced, what is commercial hybrid seed production, if hybrid seeds are genetically modified and who invented hybrid seeds? The answers are hereby presented. A

hybrid is created by crossing two different varieties of the same plant.

Crossing involves taking the pollen from the male flower of one plant and transferring it to the female flower parts of a different plant.

Once the ovary of the female flower is pollinated, it will begin to swell and form a fruit. The seeds that develop inside that fruit are hybrid seeds.

The first hybrid plant was created by Thomas Fairchild, but the art of crossbreeding plants was later rediscovered by Charles Darwin and Gregor Mendel. Hybrid seeds are listed as F1 types, as opposed to open pollinated (OP) types. Open pollinated seeds result from a simple sharing of pollen between two like parent plants.

Here in Nigeria one can buy hybrid pawpaw, maize, coconut, oranges, tomatoes, apple, chicken, ducks, pigeon, rabbits through jiji.com.

Plant breeders cross varieties and record their results over and over until a formula emerges that produces consistently excellent results. This process can take years.

It is an attempt to tease out the best genetic traits of both parent plants and combine them in a hybrid seed.

Hybrid varieties often feature traits like disease resistance, improved flavour or productivity, earlier maturity, and so on. Different traits are desirable for different types of crops. In very general terms, more can be expected out of hybrid seeds than their open pollinated alternatives. That said, some open pollinated varieties are so loved for their flavour or other traits that their seeds are saved from generation to generation and they become heirloom seeds.

When a hybrid tomato (for example) produces its fruits, the seeds inside those fruits will carry genetics from both, or either parent plant. That means their traits will be less predictable. For people who like to save seeds from year to year, open pollinated varieties are a better choice.

A hybrid is created by crossing two different varieties of the same plant. Open pollinated seeds result from a simple sharing of pollen between two like parent plants.

Plant breeders cross varieties and record their results over and over until a formula emerges that produces consistently excellent results.

Disadvantages: Hybrids cost up to five times more because they take longer to develop and are more trouble to produce. They often require a more exacting horticulture. When things aren’t optimum, they may suffer more than plants grown from non-hybrid, open-pollinated seeds.

There are four main steps of Hybrid Seed Production. The steps are: 1. Choice and Development of Seed Parent (A-Line) 2. Choice and Development of Restorer or Male Parent (R-Line) 3.Maintenance and Multiplication of Parental Seeds 4.Production and Improvement of F1 Hybrids.Step # 1. Choice and Development of Seed Parent (A-Line): The seed parent or the female parent of a commercial hybrid should be a male sterile line. But in case of non-availability of suitable male sterile line, the fertile line or a self incompatible line can be

CHI Limited supports CBN’s backward integration programme Obinna Emelike

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n July 2019, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) rolled out a new policy to encourage backward integration for the local production of select items, including dairy products to save depleting national reserves, revive local production capacity and create employment. The new policy offers challenges and opportunities for major manufacturers of milk and dairy products in Nigeria.

Despite the challenges of dairy backward integration policy like the incessant herders/farmers clashes, the opportunities in the value chain are numerous. One company that has keyed into the initiative is CHI Limited, a dairy giant.

In partnership with the Niger State Government and Central Bank, CHI Limited is investing in massive infrastructural development, upgrade of the existing and construction of new facilities at the Bobi Grazing Reserve, a pilot grazing reserve in Maringa Local

Government, Niger State.

With the acquisition of over 4,000 hectares in the reserve, the company is partnering with existing pastoralists to provide 2,000 hectares to allow for settlement and grazing for their cows. It has made available 1,200 hectares to subsistence farmers for grain production and another 300 hectares for growing some of the best breed of pasture, especially Napier grass, an essential fodder known to improve milk yield in cows.

The final stretch of 800 hectares has been set aside for development of support facilities; specifically a milk collection and processing center where all the milk produced from the cows will be collected and processed in a hygienic manner. CHI Limited has also invested in the rehabilitation

of the 15km road leading to the grazing reserve to improve access and reconstruction of its dam to ensure collection of adequate water for grazing the cattle, irrigation for farming, and other purposes on site.

Speaking on the recent developments, Deepanjan Roy, managing director, CHI Limited, thanked the Central Bank for the laudable initiative and the Niger State government for their support and co-operation thus far.

“We are proud of our strategic partnerships and investments in the backward integration project of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

With the support of the Niger State government, we would work towards ensuring that this pilot scheme achieves its medium and long-term objectives of job creation, strengthening the supply chain of the dairy category in which we play, provide good raw materials to support our local company, provide Nigerian consumers with more access to nourishing, healthy dairy products, and be the model for successful dairy backward integration”, he stated.

used where manual labour will be needed.

In case of food grain crops where the number of seeds produced in each pollination is restricted, there the cytoplasmic-genetic male sterile line should be used as seed parent. But in case of vegetable crops where seed is not the economic product and also only a single pollination will produce many seeds, there fertile pure line can be used as seed parent. In case of monoclinous plants like maize, the male flowers can be removed easily as these are borne on apices of the plants.

After identification of a male sterile line (A-line), it should be maintained by an isogenic B-line.

Strains can be identified to have the B-line reaction by crossing them to the A-line. Then a potential B-line is converted to A-line by a process of repeated back- crossing till the A and B lines become similar (isogenic).

Transfer of male sterility is required when disease susceptibility or unwanted agro­ nomic traits are associated with male sterile character. This can be done in two ways: the single phase repeated back-crossing. This method follows the repeated backcrossing of existing male sterile line (non-recurrent parent) possessing the desirable characteristics. In case of transferring cytoplasmic male sterility, it is convenient through six generations of backcrossing. But in case of devel­oping cytoplasmic-genetic male sterility, it should possess required agronomic characters and maintenance of male sterility is needed through

B-line or maintainer line.

The second step involves the two phase limited back-crossing: In this method instead of using A-line as non-recurrent parent, the B-line is back-crossed with a parent of desirable donors and the new line formed is termed as IBC. Then these developed lines are again crossed with A-line to seek out the male sterile line. These lines are then back-crossed repeatedly with IBC lines which will help to develop the male sterile line with desirable attributes.

The desirable attributes which should be considered for a male sterile line or A-line development are: Plant Height: Male sterile line should not be too tall or too dwarf.

Since plant height of the hybrid is the function of both the parents, so plant height of A- line should be lower than that of R-line (male fertile parent).

The next features are the duration and span of Flowering: This is an important attribute for commer­c ial hybrid seed production. Successful hybrid seed production depends on the synchrony between the flowering of seed parent (A-line) and male fertile parent (R-Line).

Tillering Ability: Profuse and synchronous tillering on a male sterile line is advantageous both for harvesting male sterile seeds and also hybrid seeds.

Baje is Nigerian first Food Technologist in the media ayobaje@yahoo.co.uk; 07068638066

Promoting youth mentorship is vital for Nigeria’s economic development - Sekibo Josephine Okojie

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fie Sekibo, managing director and chief executive officer of Heritage Bank Plc, says his passion for youth mentorship is hinged on his belief that it is the pathway to the economic development of the country and the African continent at large.

Sekibo, reputed for returning moribund companies to the path of sustained profitability, said he finds it satisfying, mentoring the younger generation, an act he does with passion and his God-given resources.

Sekibo said in a statement that entrepreneurship is the way to go, and youths need to be mentored on how to navigate the various challenges they may encounter while doing business.

Going down memory lane, he said the support and advice he received during his earlier career as an auditor II with the Rivers State government in 1988 has equipped him and provided direction for his career trajectory.

Nigerian youthful population has long been touted as her human capital resource, and when well managed, will grow the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and make the country a global leader in the comity of nations.

Currently, there is a growing apprehension that the country might not benefit from its youthful population with various data revealing that the country’s population is growing faster than its GDP. Nigeria’s economy is not growing fast enough to create the needed jobs for its unemployed youthful population, especially since the outbreak of the Covid-19, the economy has been battered by low oil price and FX volatility.

The African Development Bank, in its regional economic outlook report, said West Africa’s burgeoning youth population offers a strategic workforce that can leverage for economic growth, despite the virus outbreak that is devastating to the global economies.

During the virtual launch, the report stated that owing to the pandemic outbreak, growth in the West Africa region, which was poised to expand by 4.0 percent in 2020 is now projected to contract by -2.0 percent in 2020 and could fall by as much as -4.3 percent in a worst-case scenario.

Nigeria, being among the countries that depend majorly on oil and others that depend on tourism for foreign exchange will significantly face heightened external account imbalances, stoking a build-up of public debt.

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SundayBusiness With Lush City we are bringing back Igbos in the Diaspora - Oyedemi Seyi John Salau

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hy exactly do Igbos and their southsouthern neighbours consider it an uphill task going back to their villages and living among their kinsmen?

Julius Oyedemi, property investor and managing director of PWAN Plus, owners of Lush City by Cedarwood, explained that until there is a paradigm shift in house ownership pattern, many Easterners and South southerners living in cities, will continue to find it difficult to retire to their native homes. “Our experimental estate in the commercial nerve centre of Abia State - Lush City Phase 1Aba-witnessedhugescramble. We actually sold out all plots within four weeks, Lush City Phase 2, Aba, is also fast selling out and third phase is loading. Interestingly, 90percent of those who invested in Lush City exclusive estates are Igbos living in the Diaspora. Good number of accomplished professionals living in different Nigerian cities, business people and politicians also joined in the scramble for Lush City,” Oye-

demi disclosed.

During a recent facility tour of Lush City Aba and Uyo, our correspondent found out that Lush City innovation in the South East and South-South regions was carefully targeted at creating ideal environmental and orchestrating a change in the lifestyle of the people.

“Our primary objective is to spark development in the region and enhance the lifestyle of the people positively. We want to clean up the streets, and have it filled with people of positive minds. Lush City is a revolution intended to use real estate to improve South East and South-South, by planting cities.

“We believe that South Easterners travel far and wide. Why should they come back to their own place and the best they see are isolated edifices spotting predominantly remote village settings? While we are not saying that a village shouldn’t be a village, we want to ensure that South Easterners and residents of neighbouring communities will be able to enjoy good infrastructure, portable water supply, ambience, recreational facilities, security and elevated lifestyle that they enjoy in various

Julius Oyedemi, MD, PWAN Plus, presenting plot allocation letter to an investor at Lush City Estate, Aba, Abia State, recently.

cities where they reside,” Oyedemi said.

According to him, “The Igbos have done so much but they are enjoying less. They have built lots of exquisite mansions scattered in their villages and town. Incidentally, many are scared to come back home due to the absence of urban lifestyle that they enjoy in the cities.

That they have beautiful houses doesn’t make isolated family mansions in villages and towns a city. A collection of those houses having

adequate social amenities, recreational facilities, good infrastructural base and linked to sprawling pockets of towns and villages make up a city. We are creating an environment whereby there will be a show of creativity, innovation in the South East and south-south through Lush City revolution. At the end of the day, both the typical natives as well as the cosmopolitan easterners can have a feel of ambience, security and enhanced lifestyle back in

their home town.

“When you travel oversees you find out that even the way you talk, the way you dress, the malls and places you visit, everything you come in contact with is just attractive; and all these things contribute to your lifestyle.”

“We want such environment in the South East and South-South regions. Lagos and Abuja are already urban cities, with the vital contribution of the real estate sector.

Several estates implies sev-

eral developments, Oyedemi added.

Okosisi Ochingwa , a dealer in stockfish in Ariaria Market, Aba said: “This is a welcome development.” He observed that tremendous self developmental projects and infrastructures are taking place around Osisioma area of Aba where Lush City Phase 1 is located. According to Ochingwa, the place was a virgin land when PWAN Plus arrived.

“Now the place is growing fast. People no longer call the location by its original name.

They now call it Lush City.

So, Lush City has become a land mark. Also, the government of Abia State has begun to improve infrastructural development in the area,” Ochingwa said excitedly.

At the moment, PWAN Plus has replicated Lush City in Abia State, Imo State, Akwa-Ibom State while Cross River State and other neighbouring States are in the pipeline. The firm’s MD stressed that the initiative was careful created to rule the South East and South-South real estate sector. “Like the name implies, it is sprawling. Lush City is already established in Owerri, Imo State, We have Lush City phases 1, 2 and 3 in Aba, and Lush City Umuahia is loading.

How LG OLED rejuvenates sports viewing like never before

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he return of major sporting activities across countries, after several months of lockdown came as a big relief to all anxious sport lovers, who have had to face the unpleasant reality the cancellation caused.

Korean baseball was the first to return to action in June, followed by the English Premier League (EPL), Spain’s La Liga, Brazil and Mexico’s top football leagues, among others that followed suit.

Upon the return of the games, one thing that was so conspicuous was the emptiness of stadiums. Though the development was considered as part of the ‘new normal’ but it is strange and unreal, creating a huge gap that needs to be filled in the mind of the fans. So what better way to recapture the excitement of a match than upgrading one’s living room setup? As you know, not all televisions are designed with sports in mind but definitely not LG TVs. Through its innovations, LG Electronics, a global leader in consumer electronics has come to fill the vacuum, to prove a point through the LG OLED’s self-emitting pixels thatemptystandsdon’tmean games have to be silent.

LG Electronics has proved beyond reasonable doubt

that a larger TV will always do the job of watching action played across giant fields better, by displaying zoomed-out footage in amazing details, as the sporting events slowly makes their returns to the TV. Bigger displays also deliver wider viewing angles so family and friends can watch the big game together without huddling on the sofa, says the General Manager, Home Entertainment Division at LG Electronics West Africa, Vanjamin Kim. “OLED delivers the widest viewing angles in the game, the 88-inch LG SIGNATURE OLED 8K TV is the pinnacle of home spectating, while its smaller 48inch sibling delivers the same wide viewing angle to smaller

rooms.

With LG OLED’s selfemitting pixels in 4K and 8K, viewers have the prospect of seeing every feature, down to each blade of grass, while decreasing motion blur and flickering as every pixel illuminates independently.

The TVs possesses AI Sound Pro and up-mix game audio for realistic sport sounds, they are also Bluetooth Surround Ready for easy connection with LG’s powerful XBOOM speakers or wide selection of sound bars. “For sports, gray uniformity is everything. Staring at the same color for hours means a TV must maintain a single block of color at a realistic brightness and without distracting dark patches. LG

OLED TVs has continued to garner rave reviews for bestin-class uniformity,” Kim said.

It is interesting to note that sports lovers the world over were curiously awaiting the arrival of the 8K to the 2020 summer games before it was postponed. Even with the games delayed until 2021, LG OLED owners are assured of experiencing superior 8K via LG’s upscaling technology, which uses deep learning to deliver vivid and accurate 8K images to near perfection.

“It’s obvious a TV was designed with fans in mind. If it features Sports Alert notifications! New to LG TVs, users are updated on their team’s latest news and kickoff times, so not even a second of exciting play is missed.

And with all the technology in today’s TVs, setting up a TV correctly for a big match would normally be a chore.

“However, with LG OLED TVs’ α9 Gen3 AI Processor, the TV does most of the hard work for you by cleverly detecting when you’re watching sports and then optimising picture quality accordingly via Auto Genre Selection. Basketball and its fast-paced action can make motion blur and flickering more pronounced on a regular TV,” Kim said.

LG’s new OLED Motion Pro and TruMotion, on top of light-speed 120Hz response time, was made to ensure heightened image accuracy and precision for viewers to easily follow small objects, catching every basket, goal and score. From the testimonies of owners, with the TVs, empty stands don’t mean that games have to be silent, because the LG’s TVs not only boast AI Sound Pro and up-mix game audio for realistic sport sounds, they’re also Bluetooth Surround Ready for easy connection with LG’s powerful XBOOM speakers or wide selection of sound bars.

Interestingly, LG products can be found behind the scenes of sports as well.

For instance, the enormous displays located in Spanish

giant Atléticode Madrid’s expansive Wanda Metropolitano Stadium, which give fans perfect, crystal-clear replays of every tackle and goal.

The brand’s unique tech also found its way to North London where Tottenham Hotspur’s match against Burnley was filmed in glorious 8K to capture super high-quality football footage and captivate customers watching the content play out on LG’s range of OLED and NanoCell 8K televisions.

Mr. Kim explained that LG OLED is even taking some sports virtual, with an all-new take on competitive racing.

“Pro racing drivers are using OLED-powered simulators to compete in Australia’s BP Supercars All Stars Eseries, LG partnering with Kelly Racing to give their drivers the best chance to claim its inaugural title. Using LG OLED TVs, the impressive racing simulator achieves realistic racing experiences that every racer can easily relate to.

“Esports’ incredible rise to mainstream has young and old alike searching for the best gaming arsenal to gain the competitive edge online.

And with next-generation game consoles due by the end of the year, the epic battle between PlayStation and Xbox fans is set to hit new heights.

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SundayBusiness Growing mortgage system in Nigeria using Syngapore model

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igeria is never short of ideas. Indeed, it has plenty of good ideas. Some of these ideas have even been pushed forward. But what is in serious lack are the capacity and will to follow through.

There aren’t enough of these for growth and sustainability of such good ideas.

In the mortgage sub-sector, the country has done a couple of things that raised hope. The setting up of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) followed by the establishment of the National Housing Fund (NHF) is such a scheme. Another is the establishment of the Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC).

All these were aimed to make mortgage accessible and affordable, especially the NHF which allows contributors to the scheme to access mortgage loan at 6 percent interest rate for upwards of 30 years, depending on the age of the borrower.

But, for various reasons, this scheme, until lately, has been underperforming. This explains why experts are calling for remodeling of the entire mortgage system in the country.

The experts have suggested

that the mortgage system should be remodeled after what obtains in Singapore where its citizens obtain 20 to 30-year low interest mortgages to acquire houses through a pool of funds into which all workers must contribute 20 percent of their salary.

“The clear solution to me is the Singapore model – creating a pool of funds into which everybody contributes monthly and from which everybody borrows to buy a flat or house. The Federal Government ‘tops up’ contributions into this remodeled NHF with at least N10 billion every year”, advised Agele Alufohai, Managing Partner, Costec Consultants.

Singapore, the once poor island in Southeast Asia, evolved from a third to first world economy between 1965 (when it gained independence from the British) and 2000. Under Lee Kuan Yew, the country’s first Prime Minister, the government transformed huge swathes of urban sprawls and slums into well-planned cities that spurred economic dynamism and growth.

Their mortgage model succeeded not by an act of magic but because the government was determined, through a deliberate policy, to make that model work.

Conversely, the NHF scheme in Nigeria can only be described as a failure because the vision is not there to drive the scheme.

Alufohai explained that the scheme, which attempted the Singapore model failed because contributors couldn’t access the loans as they couldn’t afford the deposit for the houses. “The scheme also failed because one effect of inflationary policies is high interest rates charged on mortgage loans.

“A non-inflationary fiscal policy, flexible, sustainable exchange rates and hence, low interest rates, are important for attaining a mortgage system that will also attract foreign investment into mortgage market”, he said.

Nigeria’s mortgage, as it stands today, is incapable of supporting a housing policy that will deliver houses for all Nigerians. This is why the experts have suggested that the country should imitate other countries with mortgage systems that have delivered housing for both the rich and the poor.

The most efficient aim of housing policy, according to Alufohai, is for the government to assist millions of Nigerians obtain lowerinterest mortgages. This is how most citizens are helped to acquire houses in many countries

Talking Mortgage with CHUKA UROKO (08037156969, chukuroko@yahoo.com)

with successful housing policy such as Singapore, South Africa and Malaysia.

The housing sector has suffered slow growth over the years which is blamed on high mortgage rates with short tenures, a difficult business environment, high inflation, and unstable policies. This is the reason for the high housing deficit in the country put at 20 million units.

FMBN estimates that the country needs to build about 200,000 units per year at an annual cost of over N60 trillion to bridge this gap.

There is a link between transformational housing policy and the economy. Experts explain that a housing policy that works for all Nigerians – the rich, the poor, civil servants, small business people, artisans, informal sector workers and entrepreneurs, young graduates, young people with

limited formal education, banks, construction companies etc. – will boost construction activities and make a significant contribution to economic development.

The need for an efficient mortgage system is critical to providing accommodation for most Nigerians and this is because a house is the single biggest investment an overwhelming majority of people will ever make in their life time.

It is on record that less than 3 percent of Nigerians acquire their homes through mortgages. Yet millions of them invest in building houses of different costs and quality without any help whatsoever from the government. This is the reason over 90 percent of the country’s housing stock are described as ‘dead assets’ because they are not in any formal mortgage.

African Master Class Series launches DBN entrepreneurship training to deepen MSMEs capacity across Africa on August 17 IFEOMA OKEKE

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he African MasterClass Series, Africa’s foremost online bootcamp for social innovators and change makers, will be launching across Africa on Monday, August 17, 2020.

Af r i c a ’s b r i g h t e s t changemakers and transformational young leaders, are about to advance their mission as Ideation Hub Africa kicks off its initiative to equip thousands of innovators and visionaries with the critical competencies for starting, scaling and sustaining social impact on the continent.

The African MasterClass Series, hosted by Ideation Hub Africa, is a 6-week, 15-Module immersive learning platform which equips early-stage social entrepreneurs,development practitioners and nonprofit professionals to solve pressing problems and scale impact through innovation.

This transformational online bootcamp is provided for free and will equip,

empower and connect thousands of thoughtleaders, visionaries and disruptors with experiential insights on social innovation relevant to the African context.

A key goal of the Series is also to facilitate valuable mentorship access to global thought-leaders as well as build an energetic ecosystem for people who envision a prosperous future for Africa.

This online Executive School is provided for free and will equip, empower and engage thousands of thinkers, visionaries and disruptors with experiential insights on creating lasting change within the African context.

Debola Deji-Kurunmi, executivedirectorofIdeation Hub Africa , expressed enthusiasm saying “We are totally committed to equipping impact-driven entrepreneurs so they can effectively drive social impact to solve Africa’s pressing problems, and this is one of the ways we achieve that goal.”

This forthcoming edition, which will run for six weeks

starting from (Monday, August 17, 2020 – Monday, September 28, 2020) is themed around 15 (fifteen) Critical Competencies for “Creating and Scaling Social Impact in Africa” across the SDG areas, especially for early-stage practitioners within the first five years of their work.

These fifteen modules will be delivered by d i s t i n g u i s h e d Fa c u l t y alongside 15 expert thought-leaders that are well-versed on the inner workings of the African social sector.

These Guest Mentors i n c l u d e I n i Ab i m b o l a , CEO & Lead Consultant, ThistlePraxis Consulting; Oluseun Onigbinde, CoFounder/Director, Budgit; Gbenga Sesan, Executive Director, Paradigm Initiative, Lamide Johnson, Director, Ventures Platform Hub; Adepeju Jaiyeoba, Founder, Brown Button Foundation; D e b o l a D e j i - Ku r u n m i Founder/Executive Director, Ideation Hub Africa; John Obidi, Chief Executive Officer & Editor-in-Chief, HeadStart Africa.

SEYI JOHN SALAU

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he Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) has reiterated its commitment towards deepening and providing capacity building for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) by organising the 2020 edition of its entrepreneurship training programme.

In addition to providing funding and risk-sharing facilities to MSMEs and small corporates through participating financial institutions, the DBN has a mandate for building capacity for PFIS and MSMEs. Tony Okpanachi, the managing director of DBN, said the initiative is an integral part of the bank’s mandate to drive economic growth by empowering MSMEs with the needed skills to improve their capacity and productivity, especially in the face of the

Covid-19 economic reality.

According to him, DBN initiated the MSME capacity building programme in 2019 with 100 participants drawn from the six geo-political zones of the country.

Okpanachi opined that participants will be equipped with required skills to improve their competence in developing and defending a viable business plan, improve their capacity to access funding, as well as efficient utilisation of the funds.

“Realities enforced on the global economy by the Covid-19 pandemic have affected mostly the SMEs who are major drivers of economic growth. Through this training, we will enhance their entrepreneurial and managerial competencies,” said Okpanachi stating that the exercise is scheduled to take place in phases b e t w e e n Au g u s t a n d October.

This year, the focus is on impacting Nigerian MSMEs with the resilience needed for survival and sustenance

in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic, hence the need to increase participants to 150.

“Our strategic focus is providing liquidity, credit guarantee, and capacity building for MSMEs for them to be more productive.

The training which started in 2019 is geared towards equipping entrepreneurs across sectors of the Nigerian economy with requisite management skills to develop viable business plans, access funds, and effectively manage their business growth,” said Okpanachi.

He said that the bank would continue to bridge the financial gap for MSMEs through its participating financial institutions, as funding is a major problem for MSMEs in Nigeria.

“There’s also the need to equip our entrepreneurs with management skills to ensure they are better structured and able to effectively manage their respective businesses,” Okpanachi said.

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BDSUNDAY 27

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Pay TV: How competition will break ‘monopoly’ DANIEL OBI

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urrently, MultiChoice the operators of DStv is under ‘attack’. Surprisingly many Nigerians want to dictate how the private pay TV service provider should operate. While this is ironical in a free market economy, it underscores obvious lack of knowledge by many subscribers about the operation of the sector.

The operators of pay TV anywhere in the world buy content right from anywhere around the world and make the content either films, football or documentary available to subscribers. Their operation is not totally different from the operation of banks or manufacturers. For banks, they take funds from depositors and lend to borrowers at a cost after other variables are considered. For manufacturers, they buy raw materials for product and fix their product price. Pay TV buy content and broadcast same for a price.

Sometimes, a firm can price itself out of the market with excessive charges. Some smart phones manufacturers have left Nigerian market either for lack of patronage based on high prices or low quality products. Their places have been filled by other companies.

In a free market where there is monopoly or dominant player with excessive charges, what is required therefore is encouragement of competition which will provide alternatives to force price down.

It will be recalled that the earlier entrants into Nigeria’s GSM market in 2001/2002 sold SIM card for about N50,000. Today, the same product is almost free following the entrants of other competitors which have also forced the call rate down.

But for pay TV, Nigerians are asking for reduction of prices/fees by fiat, a dictate not extended to other sectors such as telecom, beer industry, banking or auto industry.

This is understandable as many Nigerians have seen the services of

pay TV market, dominated by MultiChoice as significant and reliever in a depressed society where some terrestrial TV stations are not living up to expectation.

In such society, some viewers perhaps see DStv as extension of government agency to provide services with subsidy. Over the years, Nigerians have enjoyed life with some subsidy on roads, petroleum products and electricity that it is almost becoming a culture. That is why Ojota in Lagos boiled in 2012 when government attempted to remove subsidy on fuel. Removal of subsidy on electricity is also being resisted.

It is clear that government understands the operation of free market enterprise where many private sectors operate. To buttress this point, the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, on July 3, this year in a report said he was not in a position to regulate the airfares for airlines operators.

He stated this when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Aviation to brief the senators on the level of the sector’s preparedness to begin flight operations on July 8. According to the report, he said, “Price is not in my hand” The question then is why is the same government bending backwards to dictate and fix prices

for MultiChoice, the 27- year old company that is operating under the same free market like airlines.

According to reports, MultiChoice was recently directed by the government to suspend the implementation of its 2.5% VAT increase effective June 1, 2020.

Clearly, determining of market prices through the dynamic interaction of supply and demand is the basic building block of economics, according to Fiona M. Scott Morton, associate professor of economics and strategy at Yale University.

This dynamic interaction produces an equilibrium market price.

Therefore, “when prices are held below natural levels, resources such as talent and investor capital leave an industry to seek a better return elsewhere. This means that there will be less discovery and innovation”. A country with high unemployment rate will naturally not allow this to happen.

On the other hand, when price is too high, there is an excessive amount of the product for sale compared to what consumers want, says Morton. This equally has its economic consequences.

According to the economist, consumer preferences for a product or service determine how much of it they will buy at any given price.

“Consumers will purchase more of

a product as its price declines... in general, if consumers appear willing to pay higher prices for a product, then more manufacturers will try to produce the product, will increase their production capacity” Following public outcry, MultiChoice is also being forced to implement pay-per-view options for their subscribers in the country. While it is anti-free market enterprise to fix prices for any operator, asking MultiChoice to implement pay per view may not be in the interest of subscribers.

Ordinarily, pay per view does not work like the electricity pre-paid meter which is pay per use. Pay per view is a situation where a subscriber pays to watch for a particular content, such as match between Manchester City Vs Liverpool or boxing match between Joshua and Kenneth. This sometimes can come with a higher cost.

Pay per view is not a system where a subscriber pays for a TV bouquet or electricity under prepaid arrangement, travels and comes back to continue watching.

It is simply paying to watch a specific programme. Again, pay per view or whole sale depends on how the content owner wants to sell the right for such content.

Buttressing this point recently, Babatunde Irukera, chief execu-

tive of Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), “explained that what obtains in telecoms is not necessarily applicable in pay television, as broadcast content must have been paid for and customers only pay for access unlike in telecommunications where the subscriber only pays when the timer starts”.

He spoke when he appeared on Sunrise Daily, Channels Television’s flagship public affairs programme last Friday.

Nigerians who are demanding for Pay as you go may have been confused with the pay as you go model in telecommunication or pay- per-view model in pay TV which is different from pay as you go.

“Pay-per-view is not that you pay for what you view from the point of when you turn your television on. It is primarily that there are certain programmes, maybe a boxing match, a soccer match or some movies that are still in the cinemas that some of the pay TV operators have bought and you can literally request instead of going to a stadium or going to a cinema to watch, you can watch it in your home and pay for that view. That is pay-per-view, but we confuse it with pay-as-yougo”, Irukere who said his agency has investigated different pay TV models around the world, said.

For the sporting channels on DStv, it is not sure how government wants to break the monopoly as the managers of EPL in England take bidding periodically for the right.

The content market is an open international market open to competitive bidding. HiTV once won the content right for EPL over MultiChoice. Perhaps the best option to encourage breaking of monopoly in EPL right is joint bidding for the right and some other programmes.

However, while government is encouraged to wear kid gloves in handling issues around pay TVs, without subjecting itself to public pressure, it is important to underline the fact that competition in any market is solution to excessiveness of any dominant player.

Top Animation Channel, DreamWorks, launches on StarTimes

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ay-TV platform, StarTimes and NBC Universal International Networks (NBCUIN) have announced the launch of DreamWorks, a 24-hour channel dedicated to kids and family entertainment exclusive to StarTimes.

DreamWorks joins other kids’ favourites like Toonami, Cbeebies, Nickelodeon, ST Kids and Jimjam, among others showing at the most affordable and flexible subscription rates in pay-TV market, and making StarTimes the heart of entertainment for children.

The DreamWorks channel, available from 3 August, brings the best in animated TV series to viewers.

DreamWorks offers quality

animation and storytelling, taking viewers on fantastical adventures as they come face to face with more dragons than anyone has ever imagined in Dragons: Race To The Edge; whilst over in Madagascar, the party continues with the world famous dancing lemur, in All Hail King Julien.

DreamWorks is available on SUPER bouquet Channel 301 and CLASSIC bouquet, channel 354.

Viewers can join adrenalinefueled snail, Turbo, and his snail crew in Turbo FAST; and follow the world’s favorite feline hero, Puss, as he protects the hidden city of San Lorenzo in The Adventures Of Puss In Boots.

In Dawn of the Croods, the world’s first family navigate their

way through modern-day life. And entertaining families across the country, The Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show will see the world’s smartest dog and his boy, Sherman, host their zany late-night comedy program, jam-packed with great

musical acts and very special historical guests.

Younger viewers can look forward to a world of giant creatures that are ‘half dinosaur, half construction vehicle in Dinotrux and follow Noddy and his friends as they solve

cases in in Toy Land, in Noddy Toyland Detective! Meanwhile, young viewers can get ready to roar with Raa Raa The Noisy Lion, cub and his friends in the Jingly Jangly Jungle.

Speaking about the upcoming launch, Lee Raftery, Managing Director, NBCUniversal International Networks, EMEA commented in a statement “Collaborating with StarTimes on bringing DreamWorks channel’s award-winning shows and beloved characters to Sub-Saharan Africa is a key milestone for our business. We look forward to bringing young viewers the DreamWorks experience, with its compelling slate of adventurous and imaginative animated series, all in one family destination.”

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Sunday 16 August, 2020

Destination Citizenship by Investment: From a luxury to a necessity

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itizenshipbyInvestment, once the domain of the very few, is increasingly popular with discerning West African high net worth investors. The concept is very simple and enshrined in the relevant country’s legislation: in return for a real estate investment or a contribution to the relevant country, an investor is afforded the opportunity to apply for citizenship of a country, and if successful, eligible for many of the benefits that follow, including visafree travel to many worldwide destinations, access to a tax efficient jurisdiction, and much more.

From its early beginnings about 40 years ago, it has grown to an industry of more than US$20 billion a year. There are about 25 countries in the world offering such investment schemes, ranging from Europe, to the United States to the Caribbean Islands. Remarkably, the first country to offer a formal citizenship by investment programme was St Kitts & Nevis, a small Caribbean island, immediately after the country became a sovereign nation in 1983. Since its modest origins, Citizenship and Residency

by Investment has become a global phenomenon. There are now five countries in the Caribbean offering citizenship-by-investment programmes, including Grenada, St Kitts & NevisandDominica.

According to one leading expert, the Caribbean is the place to invest, as not only is the industry well entrenched and understood there, but also prices are competitive and citizenship can be obtained within a 3 to 4 month window.

“The Caribbean is the place to look if you feel prejudiced and your potential iscurtailed solely by where you were born and thus what kind of passport you hold, and you want to change that,” said Mohammed Asaria, managing director and founder of Range Developments, the leading developer of luxury hotels in the Caribbean which are approved by the relevant governments as qualifying investments for Citizenship purposes.

“A second citizenship gives you and your family global mobility – you may travel visa-free to the UK, Schengen region, Russia and in the case of Grenada, to China as well,” he said.

According to him, “You don’t need to go and live in Grenada – but of course, you can if you want to. It gives you a hedge against political, economic and social volatility, as well as in the case of a real estate investment, gives you something of value that you can sell on in the future to a subsequent citizenship seeker, whilst you maintain your citizenship in perpetuity.”

With an enviable and unrivalled track record of completion and success across the Caribbean, Asaria is well qualified to discuss the ideal kind of investment. Range founded in 2012, is responsible for three of the most coveted hotels in the region: The Park Hyatt St Kitts (named by CNN in 2018 as the Best New Hotel in the Caribbean and

Park Hyatt St Kitts secured a place in the Conde Nast Hot List in 2018), Cabrits Resort Kempinski (highly praised by the Wall Street Journal and Forbes), and the recently-launched Six Senses La Sagesse in Grenada, where construction has begun and is expected to complete in 2022.

“There is no doubt that Grenada offers the most attractive citizenship programme in the world at the moment,” he says. “By investing US$220,000, plus government fees, in a state-approved real estate project in Grenada such as the Six Senses La Sagesse, individuals can become eligible for Grenadian citizenship. Moreover, by subsequently investing in a viable business in the US, individuals may also apply to live in the United States through an E-2 visa in around six weeks. Due to historical links between Grenada and the United States, Grenadians have a number of privileges in the United States, including the ability to invest and reside in the United

Kempinksi Dominica

States.”

According to Asaria, since the pandemic, a large number of people are seeking second citizenship. “We are seeing manyWest Africans look at the threat of deglobalisation and looking at Grenada citizenship and applying for the US E-2 visa.”

Following the disruption to international supply chains and travel, investors are looking for stability for their families and businesses.

“Those who are seeking a safe haven could secure Grenadian citizenship with a US E-2 visa and start a business in the United States (with a recommended minimum capital of USD150,000) within six to nine months, obtaining access to the world’s largest economy for themselves, their families and their businesses, and all being very cost effective.”

“In the case of Grenadian citizenship, applicants’ spouse, parents and children below the age of 30 may be included. As pertains, the

US E-2 visas, the investor’s spouse and children below 21 also qualify.

The investor’s spouse can also apply for authorisation to work anywhere in the United States and the children are entitled to a number of educational benefits, including In State reduced fee scales at certain universities.”

Grenadian citizenship also permits attractive visa-free travel advantages (including to the Schengen region, UK, Russia, China and in total close to 140 countries globally), although Asaria sees this as a required expectation rather than a primary consideration in the current climate. The ability to have the option to migrate to a mature market (the United States) is nevertheless often at the forefront of high net worth investors’ minds.

Second citizenship in Grenada, while offering residency to the United States through the E2 visa, does not require investors (subject to being present in the US for less

than 122 days in a year) to pay US taxes on their non-US income. This is one of the key reasons for the E2 visa’s popularity.

Citizenship-by-Investment programmes should be distinguished from residency or Golden Visa programmes. Golden Visa programmes are primarily offered by southern European countries such as Portugal, Spain, Italy, offering permanent residency and will only lead to citizenship after several years, typically, after 7 years and after learning the native language.

In the case of Citizenship by Investment programmes offered by a few Caribbean nations, Citizenship is awarded within 3 to 6 months of making an application. The expediency and efficiency of the award of citizenship is directly related to the success of these programmes.

According to Asaria, seismic economic shifts have changed investors’ reasons for seeking second citizenship since the pandemic.

He refers to three types of clients who commonly seek second citizenship. The first are investors looking to liquidate their businesses in emerging markets and reinvest their capital in advanced economies such as the US, avoiding the risk of exposure to economic, political or social challenges in their home countries.

The second group of investors are often those with substantial, globalised businesses who are increasingly seeking to establish a physical presence in developed markets such as United States to combat deglobalisation and forge closer relationships with clients in key markets.

The third segment are those looking for a better quality of life with increased standards of health, safety and education, as well as, global mobility, especially for their families.

“All three groups of investors will invariably require a second citizenship that provides access and residency in advanced economies such as the United States,” he said.

“We have helped more than 1,600 families from around the world gain new citizenship,” Asaria further said, adding that “The reputation of our developments is unrivalled. We are the only company involved in the Caribbean that has delivered, and this is why we are trusted” Citizenship-by-Investment looks set to grow even more in the coming months. “The benefits are obvious,” Asaria said.

According to him, “People are waking up to the idea that it’s an accessible, legitimate and costeffective option. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and the elevated levels of global anxieties, Citizenship by Investment is no longer a luxury for the West African HNW, it has become a necessity.”

To learn more about Range Developments and investing in Grenada visit here, WhatsApp +971 55 887 4216, call +971 4 325 3447 or email info@rangedevelopments.com.

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Alexis Galleries holds first virtual knock on wood exhibition seyi john salau

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lexis Galleries has announced the second edition of ‘Knock on Wood II’ exhibition would hold virtually in accordance with the COVID-19 social distancing rule of keeping safe and containing the pandemic.

As the world evolves through art and creativity, contemporary African artists are evolving their artistic craft by blending ancient and modern medium of art, hence the need for contemporary African wood work.

In an art world where wood as a medium can be ancient and contemporary, artists have not only defiled the common technique of carving but had diversified the styles, technique, function and societal appreciation of wood works.

The all-wood exhibition is a fusion of African art form, color motifs and patterns with a contemporary art form that focuses on wood and blends the art with other forms.

Patty Chidiac Mastrogiannis, the founder and director of Alexis Galleries, said the Victoria Island Lagos-based gallery has taken responsibility in promoting and encouraging the transformation in art style and birth contemporaries in African ancient mediums.

According to her, the exhibition, which is supposed to be a residency exhibition, will open virtually to the public on Saturday September 19 and runs till September 21, 2020.

Knock on Wood

However, in order to adhere to all necessary guidelines by the government on social distancing, the live view will be strictly by registration.

She stated that links to the exhibition would be published before the exhibition. “The exhibition promises to be intriguing for both virtual and live views,” said Mastrogiannis.

Five artists whose works are being exhibited include; Afeez Adetunji, Osaro Luke, Olatunde David, Darlinton

Chukwumezie and Chukwuemeka Micheal Osisiego. All five artists will exhibit five wood works each.

One of the wood works tagged ‘On Your Own’ by Osisiego was created on five panels. Another work to be exhibited by Osaro is tagged, ‘You may kiss the bride’. Taiwo David on his part calls his kind of art ‘African synthesis’ and he will be exhibiting ‘Swing in your own direction’ among other works.

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Dear Alaere

Author:

Eriye Onagoruwa

Pagination:

226

Publisher:

Paperworth Books

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NT, Nigeria’s leading entertainment television station and first youth driven choice, has repositioned its entertainment channel among other offerings. The repositioning by the TV station, popularly known as Tiwa ‘N’ Tiwa, is aimed at attracting more viewers and Nigerian youths who have talents in music and entertainment to harness the opportunity and benefits in the industry for self-reliance and achievement.

Moreover, the management of the TV channel, which serves all social classes in Nigeria, has discovered that a lot of youths are talented in music and entertainment, and therefore need help to actualise their dreams and create jobs in the society.

Revealing the objectives of the rebranded TV station in a media chart recently, Damilola Adefemi, group managing director, TNT TV, said that it is aimed at making the station more social and trendy. “It is the trending TV station now across 26 states and 50 cities in Nigeria. We have redefined entertainment for the Nigerian viewers, because we discovered that over time people are made to view or exposed to what they are not keen on viewing. Most of the TV stations create programmes that are not relevant or what viewers do not want to watch. We have studied and understood the

Year or Publication: 2020 Reviewer: Obinna Emelike

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ruly, Eriye Onagoruwa is fascinated by the power of words as evident in the rich storyline, matching characterization and perfect delivery in her debut novel, Dear Alaere.

In this exciting novel, the first-time author, who is also passionate about women’s causes, mirrors the burdens the African society places on women, workplace intrigues and life experiences.

The uniqueness of her novel is that she starts each chapter with the dairy of Alaere Benson, the central character. The diary helps the readers to read Alaere’s mind, share in her fears, and hope for the best for her.

She holds the dairy very dearly as she confides in it things she cannot utter elsewhere, one of which is being an African woman is like a minefield.

Starting from chapter one, the author speaks through the mind of Alaere who resorted to her dairy; her secret weapon, to express relief on getting a job and opportunity to earn some money and respect.

Of course, that breaks the chain of idleness, being a house wife and dependent on her husband, who is not complaining, though.

The relief is further captured in her preparation for work. But her first day at work at Neuterone was an experience of mixed feelings.

Eriye Onagoruwa

While meeting Chief, her father’s friend who gave her the job, and Doubra Wellington, her colleague, was exciting, the encounter with the rest of the staff, especially Kamarachimdi, was unwelcoming for a colleague she is meeting for the first time.

The author painstakingly reveals the near-crisis situation in Alaere’s marriage, and pressure from extended family, especially her mother inlaw, whose love wane when her daughter in-law could not give her grandchildren five

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Arts

TNT television redefines entertainment for youths, other viewers

Book Review Title:

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years into the marriage.

The author depicts the burden the African society places on women with Alaere’s misconstrued bareness, while leaving men like Adelaja, her husband, who is suffering from oligaspermia.

In the same vein, Alaere’s father and Alhaji Wasiu, her driver, are being portrayed as typical African men who prefer the male-child over the girl-child.

Alhaji Wasiu subjects his wife to yearly child delivery with the hope of getting a

nature of our Nigerian TV viewers and come up with a devout TV channel of entertainment, music, lifestyle, movies and sports”.

According to her, TNT is out for promoting typical Nigerian culture, which we call the ‘Nigerian project’ comprising; music, movie, entertainment, life style, tradition and news. “We are taking Nigeria to the world.

We are projecting Nigeria to Nigerians, Africans in Africa and in diaspora”.

Damilola said further that apart from showcasing the Nigerian project, TNT has Mathematics made-easy programme, which teaches students how to solve maths because it is a major challenge for many Nigerian students and youths. The programme simplifies mathematics to their understanding, as well, as other upcoming programmes in science and technology.

“TNT is presently accessible on Gotv Channel 111, which is the most popular pay cable platform and we are also available on StarTimes, Channel 171 for now. We are expanding towards free to air satellite where more Nigerians would have access to our TV channel. We are also working to get all other available platforms, because viewership is about, the more platforms you are on, the more viewers you get. Our intention is to cover the whole Nigeria because this is the “Nigerian project”, she said.

“It is purely Nigerian indigenous channel where ethnic groups can showcase what they are being known for, listen and enjoy their native music and also advertise their brands, and that is why we are unique. They can access TNT in their different states and location. We cover the country and entertain all Nigerians, whether Christian or Muslim. Everybody is tuning to Tiwa ‘N’ Tiwa because they can all associate with the channel.

We run programmes in different languages and people understand what we are doing”, she said further.

On the challenges of TV stations in Nigeria, Damilola enthused that life is a challenge, but the ability to weather the storm is what matters. “There are challenges, for instance, if you compare the quality of movies produced in the country five years ago and now, there is a great different. Though, everything bugs down to finance. Apart from creativity, you need equipment and resources, which do not come easily in the TV industry. You need to invest a lot on equipment. I am happy that Nigerian content producers are not relaxing, but doing their best within the available resources. That is why you are seeing Nigerian movies online and more. Nigerians can make things happen.

All they need is support in financing and they will do well”, she concluded.

male child who, according to the driver, would answer his name.

But the woman died while in labour for the seventh child, after six girls.

Aalaere’s case was not different. She managed to get pregnant by the same man doctors said cannot father a child due to low sperm count.

But she lost some of the pregnancies. Her worst experience was the loss in a Canadian hospital of Tamarapreye, the beautiful daughter she could not breastfeed, and on her return, the no sympathy attitude that greeted her by her in-laws who claimed her womb cannot carry a baby.

Though she left Neuterone when she discovered some secrets she thought could hunt her, she was lucky to get a plum job at Criole, a multinational company. But the experience seemed same as Neuterone with many undercurrents in workplace and deadly intrigues, while outsiders think all is well and strive to get in.

At Criole, things took deadlier turns. Pierre Cost, an expatriate staff, arranged for the assassination of An-

wuli, a Nigerian staff of the company. Alistair, the managing director and Cost were recalled by the headquarters of the company abroad. The author delves into the corruption in the society as huge money exchanged hands to set Cost free.

The intrigue at Criole continued as new bosses were sent to replace the ones recalled, and they came with new and bigger trouble for Alaere. Jean-Luc Bever, the MD of Criole, and Binyelum, her fellow woman, sexually intimidated Alaere to the extend she had to report to her husband.

Of course, the trials of the African woman continued with the attempt by Adelaja’s mother to force a wife on him and displace Alaere, who they accused of not being able hold a baby in her womb.

Despite all her initial trials, Alaere was able to hold and delivered a baby alive.

The author did a great job with the seemingly ‘tragicomedy’ novel.

I therefore recommend the 226-page novel to readers who love captivating stories and excellent writing.

30 BDSUNDAY

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Sunday 16 August 2020

Health&Science You can impregnate your wife even if you suffer from erectile dysfunction Contributor

Abayomi Ajayi MD/CEO, Nordica Fertility Centreinfo@abayomiajayi.com.ng

H

aving regular andsatisfyingintercourse does not guarantee that as a man, you can make your wife or sex partner pregnant, but whenyouexperienceerectile dysfunction from time to time, it can be embarrassing and frustrating. If this goes on for longer and becomes a chronic problem it’s extremely stressful and can have a negative impact on your relationship. If this happens while you are trying to conceive,thestressbecomes even more problematic.

Erectile dysfunction means you have an inability to have an erection during sexual pleasure, and could be more than a sexual problem as it could be an early sign of cardiovascular disease.

It may result from clogged arteries, or cardiovascular disease, which can impede the blood flow necessary to create an erection. It is

becoming more common with unhealthy lifestyles and a complacent attitude.

The pressure to have sex at certain times of the month could get too much if you can’t get an erection, or maintain one, or ejaculate when you want to. Of course your partner would be aware that she is only fertile for a short window each month and the fact that you need to have intercourse at the right time only adds more pressure.

Erectile dysfunction is common yet men who are suffering erection-related problems often find it hard to pin down the exact reason.

Sedentary lifestyle, lack of exercise, smoking, excessive alcohol intake, obesityrelated diseases and stress all take a toll.

There is a link between erectile dysfunction and infertility because if you are suffering from erectile dysfunction, it basically means you often struggle to get an erection, which makes intercourse difficult or almost impossible.

It is common knowledge thattoimpregnateawoman, intercourse is necessary. At the climax of sex, when the man ejaculates and semen is released into the woman, chances of a healthy sperm meeting the ovum released during ovulation increases by many folds.

The sperm and ovum unite to form an embryo, which travels through the fallopian tubes and implants itself in the uterus to develop into a fetus during the nine months of pregnancy.

This is the basic science behind how a baby is born.

But if you have erectile dysfunction this might not be possible to achieve.

If you have low sperm count and can maintain an erection, it doesn’t necessarily mean you can impregnate your wife. But if you have healthy sperm count even with erectile dysfunction, some care and attention can help you plan to have a baby.

Most men who experience this problem don’t usually want to go to a doctor to discuss the problem, and that is wrong. The inability to maintain an erection while having sex haunts men more than anything else, however itdoesn’thaveto bethatway.

The various causes of erectile dysfunction can be broadly categorized into physiological or physical, and psychological.

There are various things that you can do to your body that can cause erectile dysfunction. Habits like alcohol consumption, smoking and doing drugs are common triggers. Diseases like diabetes and obesity are also bad for your sex life. Psychological causes such as

depression, anxiety-related conditions, and other mental health problems are also significant. However, age is the commonest culprit.

If you are suffering from erectile dysfunction but you have a healthy sperm count, you do have a fair chance to help your wife birth a baby with assisted reproductive techniques (ART).

If you have low sperm count and also suffer from erectile dysfunction, even IVF might be challenged to help. While it is possible to impregnate your wife through IVF if you have a healthy sperm count, keep in mind that the problem of erectile dysfunction would still need special attention and care to manage it.

A physical exam and answering questions (medical history) may be all that’s needed for a doctor to diagnose erectile dysfunction and recommend a treatment. If you have chronic health conditions or your doctor suspects that an underlying condition might be involved, you might need further tests or a consultation with a specialist.

The treatment options for erectile dysfunction vary. It includes medication to help increase blood flow to the penis. However many of thesedrugshaveserioussideeffects and it is important to talk to your doctor and dis-

cuss your entire medical history before taking any drug.

Depending on the cause and severity of your erectile dysfunction and any underlying health conditions, you might have various treatment options and will need to consider your preferences. Your partner’s preferences also might play a role in your treatment choices.

Your doctor will consider your particular situation to determine which medication might work best. The medications might not treat your erectile dysfunction immediately but you need to work with your doctor to find the right medication and dosage for you.

If stress, anxiety, tension or marital problems are the causes, counselling can help ease performance anxiety and the subsequent dysfunction.

Exercises such as brisk walking, swimming or 30 minutes of cardio three times a week can help boost blood circulation and improve the blood flow towards the pelvic region.

Improved circulation will help the small arteries in the penile area receive adequate blood; during intercourse, it helps you to hold your erection for longer. This helps if erectile dysfunction is an outcome of your sedentary lifestyle, stress and anxiety.

If the non-invasive meth-

ods don’t work, then injections can help you to achieve an erection. These are vasodilators, since they help increase the blood supply.

Specialized devices for erectile dysfunction called penis pumps are also available.

Penile implants are usually the last resort. A penile implant is suggested when all other modes of treatment have failed; however, only few men need to go for a penile implant.

To sum up, erectile dysfunction which is basically the inability to hold on to an erection, can be as frustrating as it can get. While it causes a lot of tension between partners, the good news is that in most cases it is treatable.

In some cases, the condition arises due to a psychological reason like performance anxiety, stress and unrealistic self-expectation from sex. In others, it could be due to a medical problem like diabetes or high blood pressure. Usually, medication can help correct the condition to a great extent and restore your sexual vigor.

If you are trying to conceive, sometimes it helps to take the focus off babymaking sex for a while by deciding to have sex only for the sheer fun of it. No ovulation predictor kits or charts allowed. Just try to make the sex happen spontaneously.

Cardiac arrest may be more common in Nigeria than previously...

Continues from Page 1 died. BDSUNDAY gathered that there have been many unreported cases where some individuals just passed on while sitting down or discussing with their loved ones.

For instance, on Sunday, August 9, 2020, in Lagos, while a number of worshippers were celebrating the lifting of ban on religious gatherings as a result of the Covid-19, a 43-year-old man reportedly slumped and died inside the church. It was said that he had no known serious medical condition before the unfortunate incident.

Recently, a founding managing director of Democrat Newspaper and former president of the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN), Ismaila Isa Funtua, died of cardiac arrest.

A number of people have attributed some of the cause of the deaths to fear, leading to depression.

But, experts in medical field told BDSUNDAY that the increased incidence of deaths in the country may not be as-

sociated with the Covid-19 pandemic.

Adeyemi Johnson, a cardiologist, founder and managing director of First Cardiology Consultants, said: “The incidence of SCD is increasing rapidly in Nigeria mostly secondary to the increase in coronary artery disease from unhealthy lifestyles. Seventy (70) percent of cardiac-related deaths in Nigeria are preventable, No relation to Covid-19 that I am aware of.”

“I won’t call it a spike in cardiac arrest cases. It has been a gradual but significant rise,” Johnson said.

Johnson however, advised that Nigerians should get some exercise, “at least walking 30-60 minutes a day aiming for 5,000-10,000 steps a day and walking up the stairs instead of using the elevator.”

Globally, cardiac arrest is a foremost cause of death as it is annually responsible for no less than 7million deaths.

An autopsy study from Nigeria found that hypertensive heart disease was the most common cause of sudden cardiac death.

Explaining this, Johnson

said sudden cardiac death is not the same as a heart attack. A heart attack can lead to sudden cardiac death which occurs when electrical activity in the heart stops functioning.

According to the consultant cardiologist, heart attack occurs when there is obstruction of blood flow to the heart muscle causing damage to the heart.

“A simple analogy is, look at sudden cardiac death (cardiac arrest) as loss of electrical supply to your water pump. The pump will not work. A heart attack is like damage to your generator from bad diesel. The generator will work but not efficiently and it might even stop and you have no power at all.

“Sudden cardiac death does not usually happen to normal hearts. There is usually an underlying problem that might not have been detected. The most common cause is coronary artery disease (blocked coronary arteries), other causes include heart failure (weak heart muscle), abnormal heart muscle and abnormal electrical activity in the heart.”

He further explained that “It is most common in people above the age of 50 and sometimes occur in healthyappearing young people (athletes) who usually have an underlying problem that was not obvious.”

On how to avoid such episodes, Bisi Bright, a public health consultant and CEO Livewell Initiative, said Nigerians need to cultivate the culture of taking out time to rest and relax regularly, adding that “the disease can be averted through a healthy lifestyle, eating a balanced diet and getting enough sleep.”

According to her, “Nigeria is a very stressful place, so the stress level is very high.

This is because of the poor infrastructure and human resource support systems and these results in stressful conditions.”

Folasade Alli, a consultant cardiologist at Lagos Executive Cardiovascular Clinic, listed steps to take in order to reduce the risk of cardiac arrest to include regular checkups, screening for heart diseaseandlivingaheart-healthy standard of living.

According to her, “You

need to know if you’re either at risk of developing a heart disease, or at risk of complicating your existing heart-related condition.

However, I know there is a need to know the symptoms of heart disease, and know that they vary depending on the kind of heart condition and individual.

“FormanyNigerians,making daily lifestyle changes will help reduce your risk of (further) heart complications including maintaining a healthy, balanced diet that is rich in fruits and vegetables, and foods low in saturated fats.

Eatwholegrainproducts,fish, beans, and lean meat.

“Avoiding drinking alcohol by reducing your intake (including red wine!), or simply never start drinking.”

Research shows that sudden cardiac arrest symptoms are immediate and severe. They include sudden collapse, no pulse, no breathing and loss of consciousness. These possibly will include fatigue, fainting, blackouts, dizziness, chest pain, shortness of breath, weakness, and palpitations or vomiting.

Also, research identifies

a family history of coronary artery disease, smoking, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol,obesity,diabetes, a sedentary lifestyle, excessive intake of alcohol, nutritional imbalance, such as low potassium or magnesium levels, using of illegal drugs such as cocaine, heroin, cannabis, could also increase the risk of cardiac arrest.

Recall that some years back, during the inauguration of the N7billion cardiac and renal centre sited at Gbagada General Hospital, Jide Idris, the then Lagos State commissioner for Health, had attributed the prevalence of kidney/heart failure and eventual deaths of the patients to lifestyle, eating habits, lack of exercising, overweight, sugar level in the body and hypertension (blood pressure) among other risk factors.

Thecommissioner,atthat time, confirmed increasing deaths from the diseases as some do not get to know until it reaches a critical stage; a situation he said informed the then government’s free test for the citizens and the eventual decision to establish the centre in the state

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BDSUNDAY 31

Sports Five things about young German RB Leipzig side

R

Stories by Anthony Nlebem

veteran at 26, was signed in 201314 when Leipzig were in the third division.

In Nagelsmann, signed last season from Hoffenheim, Leipzig secured arguably Germany’s brightest coaching talent, nicknamed ‘Mini Mourinho’.

In the current squad, exBarcelona academy product Dani Olmo, 22, and US midfielder Tyler Adams, are both fulfilling promise after scoring on Thursday against Atletico.

B Leipzig’s shock quarter-final win over Atletico Madrid sees the German club facing Paris Saint Germain in the Champions League semi-finals next Tuesday barely a decade since their creation.

Under Julian Nagelsmann, 33, a rising star among German coaches, Leipzig are also challenging Bayern Munich’s domination of the Bundesliga.

Here are five things to know about the German club: Fast Rise Leipzig were founded in 2009 when Red Bull took over the licence of fifth-tier side SSV Markranstaedt, near Leipzig, renaming and re-branding the club.

The city of Leipzig was chosen under advice from Germany legend Franz Beckenbauer, a friend of Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz.

The team shot up Germany’s league pyramid with four promotions in seven seasons.

As recently as 2013-14, they were still in the third division.

They reached the Bundesliga in 2016-17, making a flying start by briefly keeping Bayern Munich from first place in the league table before finishing second.

Hostile Arrival However, their Bundesliga arrival was met with hostility by Germany’s established clubs, unhappy about their commercialism.

As the German Football League (DFL) insists a sponsor

cannot appear in a club’s title, the fabricated German word RasenBallsport - literally ‘LawnBallsport’ - make up the initials RB. Under the league’s ‘50+1’ rule, clubs must hold a majority of their own voting rights, but all Leipzig members are Red Bull employees.

“There’s football being played to perform for a soda can,” grumbled Borussia Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke in 2016.

Leipzig had the last laugh by beating Dortmund 1-0 in only their second Bundesliga match.

“11 cans beat an 11 who bottled it,” retorted Leipzig’s thenboss Ralf Rangnick.

Fans Protest However, some German fans

were as unimpressed as Watzke.

A severed bulls head appeared on the pitch side when Leipzig opened their 2016-17 season with a narrow German Cup win over neighbours Dynamo Dresden.

Protests by home fans followed when Leipzig played away, particularly at Cologne, Moenchengladbach and Dortmund.

Flags bearing insulting or threatening slogans aimed at Red Bull boss Mateschitz often appeared when the club visited.

Things got out of hand in February 2017 when a large group of Dortmund supporters attacked visiting RB fans, including women and children, resulting in ten injuries.

Dortmund’s then-captain Marcel Schmelzer scolded their fans, “we don’t know you like that”, in

Willian targets Premier League title with Arsenal

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illian believes Mikel Arteta can turn Arsenal back into Premier League title contenders.

The Brazil forward revealed manager Arteta as the main reason he joined the Gunners, after ending his seven years stay at London rivals, Chelsea.

Arsenal completed the signing of the 32-year-old on Friday on a three-year deal, with Willian quickly admitting former Manchester City assistant Arteta had sold him a bold vision for the Gunners’ future.

“I decided to join the club because Arsenal is one of the biggest clubs in the world, and because of the new project with Arteta,” said Willian, who will wear the number 12 shirt at Arsenal.

“I think this club deserves to shine again, and I want to be a part of this project.

“With Arteta, I think Arsenal have a great opportunity to fight again for titles in the Premier League and in Europe.

“I am excited to start, I can’t wait to get on the pitch to do

my thing to help my teammates and the club to shine again.

“I talked to Arteta and the conversations were good. He

gave me confidence to come to Arsenal, he said a lot of good things to me, and that’s why I have come to Arsenal.”

Willian helped Chelsea win two Premier League titles, one FA Cup triumph and the 2019 Europa League.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta admitted he was impressed by Willian’s desire to join the north London club.

“I believe he’s a player that can really make a difference for us,” said Arteta.

“We have been monitoring him for the past few months, we had a clear intention to strengthen the attacking midfielder and the winger positions. He is a player that gives us a lot of versatility; he can play in three or four different positions.

“He has the experience of everything in the football world but still has the ambition to come here and contribute to bring the club where it belongs.

“I have been really impressed with all the talks I have had with him and how much he wanted to come.”

a video message and a stand was closed for the next home game.

Youth Backing Leipzig have always resisted the urge to use Red Bull’s huge finances to buy established stars.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi were both considered “too old, too expensive” by Rangnick back in 2016.

The policy remains of developing young talent.

After becoming one of the Bundesliga’s best central midfielders, Naby Keita was 23 when Liverpool signed him in 2018 for around 60 million euros ($70 million).

Timo Werner, 24, joined Chelsea in June after scoring 34 goals for Leipzig last season.

Captain Yussuf Poulsen, a

Ambition RB Leipzig have made no secret of their desire to challenge the established order in German football by rivalling Bayern or Dortmund and finished third in 2019/20 to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

In each of their four seasons in Germany’s top flight, Leipzig qualified for Europe by finishing in the top six.

Under current Southampton manager Ralph Hassenhuettl, Leipzig finished their debut Bundesliga season in 2016-17 second to Bayern, leaving Dortmund third.

They are gaining valuable experience in Europe.

Leipzig were eliminated after the Champions League group stages in 2017-18 - their debut campaign - and also bowed out early in the Europa League last season.

However, this year under Nagelsmann, they finished top of a group containing Benfica, Lyon and Zenit Saint Petersburg, beat Tottenham in the last 16 and eliminated 2014 and 2016 finalists Atletico in the quarter-finals.

NFF mourns U15 coach, Danladi Nasidi

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he Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has consoled the family of the Head Coach of the U15 Boys’ National Team (Future Eagles), Danladi Nasidi who died on 12th August 2020 and was buried the same day.

Chairman of the NFF Technical andDevelopmentCommittee,Yusuf Ahmed ‘Fresh’ paid glowing tributes to the one-time assistant coach of the Super Falcons, saying “Nasidi gave his all for the nation and served passionately, diligently and creditably in every role he found himself.

“It is a very sad day for Nigeria football, because Nasidi has been playing a huge role in grassroots development programmes for our football. He was very passionate about youth football and has moulded our U15 boys into a solid and formidable unit over the years. We will surely miss him.

“He was someone who evinced passion for youth and development everytime and everywhere you met him. I am crestfallen. When I started my journey into football administration, Nasidi was one of the coaches who spurred me into investing in grassroots development. His passion was infectious.”

Nasidi, was born on 1st January 1952, hailed from Niger State, and was among the elite corp of coaches

in the country who had the CAF ‘A’ Licence. In 1994, he rescued Lagos darling team, Stationery Stores from certain relegation, and was Head Coach of the National Team of Gabon in 1986. He coached Minna darling club, Niger Tornadoes for several years.

He led the U15 Boys to silver medal finish at the 2018 African Games in Algiers. He was First Assistant to Head Coach Ismailia MaboastheSuperFalconsreached the quarterfinals of the FIFA Women’s World Cup in USA in 1999.

“I never regretted our relationship and my foray into grassroots development. Late Danladi Nasidi was a good man inwardly and outwardly and while we loved him, God loved him more. On behalf of the Nigeria Football Federation and the Nigeria football family, I pray to God to grant late Nasidi eternal rest and also grant all those he has left behind the fortitude to bear the big loss,” said ‘Fresh’, who is also the Chairman of the Niger State Football Association.

BDSUNDAY

NEW YOU CAN TRUST

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What are the political legacies for Nigerian youth?

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hat inspiring quote came from one distinguished, yet unsung nationalist, Professor Eyo Ita (of blessed memory). The Efik-born philosopher and patriot returned to Nigeria from the United States (US) in 1933. That was after bagging two masters’ degrees and a doctorate in philosophy. He remained an inspiration to Nigeria’s youth in their educational development back in the 1930s. In fact, it was he who saw to the birth of the Nigerian Youth Movement (NYM) in 1934. The mandate then was on the palm philosophy with the five fingers of Health, Economy,Beauty,KnowledgeandPatriotism.

So profound and influential the NYM became that in March of that same year, the Lagos Youth Movement was launched with Dr. J.C.Vaughan as the president.

Other members such Ernest Ikoli, Samuel Akinsanya and H.O.Davies became the moving spirits. Its patriotic aim and cardinal objectives included seeking inter-tribal harmony, nationalism and selfless service.

In fact, it saw to the training of the junior cadre of doctors, engineers and teachers in protest against the shoddy educational standard at the then Yaba Higher College.

Eventually, it evolved as the catalyst for national cohesion that influenced the return of the great Zik of Africa from Ghana and the increased tempo in the demand for political independence.

It is therefore, a crying shame that 86 years after the patriotic efforts of the Itas, Vaughans, Akinsayas and Davies our current crop of political leaders are running a government that has not only marginalised the youth but consigned them to mass misery. They wake up daily topervasive poverty, huge unemployment, loss of jobs, infrastructural decay and wide-spread insecurity that has not given value for the huge sums so far spent on combating its menace.

But too often, we blame our youth for the escalating wave of sundry crimes such as armed robbery, kidnapping for ransom, rape, yahoo-yahoo and terrorism without the elders playing our parts. Prevention should be wiser than cure.

While it is heart-warming that President Muhammadu Buhari recently joined the Nigerian youth in marking the International

“Youth in other countries are driving forward, building themselves and their people, making their homelands beautiful, bright and stimulating… for, whereas yesterday belonged to our fathers, today and tomorrow is ours. We can and must shape it to our needs and desires.”

-Prof. Eyo ITA (National Leader of the Nigerian Youth Movement, NYM, 1934) Youth Day 2020 with a N75 billion Nigerian Youth Investment Fund (NYIF) for their economic empowerment, it is hoped that it will not go the way of the controversial TraderMoni and the palliatives that did not meet the needs of millions of Nigerians during the lockdown due to Covid-19. Besides, the president should fulfill the tenets of the ‘NotToo-Young-To-Run’ bill. His silence on this critical issue leaves a sour taste in the mouth.

Think about this-when Nigerians, whowere born during the time that the Macaulays, the Ziks and Awolowos were igniting the flames to light up the paths to politicalindependence, still keep a stranglehold on the levers of political power, when will the youth lead this country? Nigeria needs younger, intelligent, resourceful, highly educated patriots as the political helmsmen and women, as with Finland, New Zealand, Ukraine and North Korea.

What we have at the moment is a pseudo-democracy characterised by the desperate demons of electoral fraud, self-righteous despots masquerading as born-again democrats, mass looting of the national till, judicial shenanigans, policy flipflops, religious extremism, nepotism and ethnic jingoism, with scarce regards for the sanctity of precious human life. They rule by force and fiat, intimidating those with opposing opinions. They express undue focus on the so called Hate Speech without the frontal tackle on its root causes.

With good governance, peace, unity and equality of all before the law, why would

anyone cast aspersions on the politicians in power?

Surprisingly, we are all asked to keep quiet and keep praising some acts of ineptitude on the part of the policy makers.

No! This is antithetical to the tenets of the United Nation’s Freedom of Expression Law as the outcome of the conference on the freedom of information, held in Geneva, Switzerland between March 23 and April 21, 1948. Also known as the Access to Information (ATI), it took root in 1766 when a Freedom of Information Law was introduced in Sweden-Finland.

Since then, over 150 countries have adopted such laws affecting over 6 billion inhabitants in the world.

Instilling fear in the people, never to criticize government runs against the grains of the Freedom of Information Act (FoI, 2011) which was duly signed into law by former President Goodluck Jonathan on May 28, 2011. Some other African countries that have also passed national FoI laws include Angola, Ethiopia, Guinea, Liberia,Niger, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe, while draft FoI laws in other African states are at different stages in the process towards their adoption.

What moral lessons are we teaching our children, who have to grow up in a thorny, political jungle peopled by power-poaching hyenas and jackals.

Perhaps, our current leaders should climbdown from their high political horses to drink from the fountains of knowledge of history. How did democracy evolve and what are its axioms?

For the records, ancient city-states of Greece were, for instance, ruled by autocratic kings. But about 700B.C. they were expelled as more people wanted a share in the government process.

Soon after, monarchy gave way to aristocracy as the lever of power was held by the few rich men. But, at about 500 B.C., many cities adopted democracy.

This was a new type of government that was more people-inclusive.

What Nigerian leaders need to learn from Greek history was the different modes of youth development in the

Ayo Oyoze Baje Baje is Nigerian first food technologist in the media and author of ‘Drumbeats of Democracy’ and president of the Guild of Public Affairs Analysts of Nigeria (GPAAN)

two city-states of Sparta and Athens. Sparta was governed by two kings aided by the nobles. While their youths were groomed under harsh, old-fashioned conditions; caring little for literature, commerce, art and science, their counterparts in Athens were brought up in a sophisticated setting in a more progressive and open-minded city.

According to H.A. Clement, the author of the ‘Story of The Ancient World’, while boys in Sparta who could not withstand severe conditions to become soldiers were left to die in a cold mountain valley, those in Athens were exposed to the arts, science, literature and commerce from an early age. While the youths of Sparta who survived were brought up as soldiers, who were taken from home at the tender age of seven and brought up together, to wear same clothes, with many physical exercises to build their bodies, there was a law in Athens that banished any leader that became too powerful for ten years!

Again, while Spartan youths were publicly thrashed once a year to be used to pains and conditioned to speak as little as possible, the laws in Athens honoured talents, guaranteed justice and threw its gates open to strangers. In all of this, Athens became a democracy but Sparta never became one!

The question before Nigerian youths, therefore, is to choose between the command-and-obey stringent structure of Spartan leadership style and the more liberal and mind-developing format provided by Athens. We are in a democracy and this is the 21st Century globalised world. A word should be enough for the wise.

‘Too Black to Succeed’: Harnessing Jamaica’s colonial struggle to inspire change (Part 2) Yakub Sidamo Grant Yakub Sidamo Grant is the Adjunct Lecturer at the University of the West Indies.

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he crisis struck the financial sector and its productive customers alike.

In 1998, National Commercial Bank (NCB), the country’s largest commercial bank, holding more than 40 per cent of deposits in the commercial banking system, found well over half its loan portfolio in default. Naturally, this baddebt explosion reflected the collapse of the bank’s borrowing customers straining under its weight. Desperately, the Government rushed in to rescue the banks; but it left the affected borrowers to perish, and be later demonised, vilified and hounded down as ‘bad debtors’.

Dixon’s Too Black to Succeed - The FINSAC Experience opens the way for healthy discussion and analysis, outside of partisan

politics and allows her country men to hear the compelling voice and views of a Jamaican, from the perspective of a committed citizen, educator and entrepreneur.

In her 23-chapter over 230-page book, Dixon aims to engage Jamaicans at home and across the global Diaspora, as well as the millennial generation of Jamaicans, who she feels need to be more conscious of the important socio-economic factors of the past and present which are determining the quality of their lives and future.

Beyond engaging Jamaicans, Dixon explored the entire spectrum of her country’s financial system and pointed out when it started going wrong.

Taking a bullish stance, Dixon evokes memories of Jamaica’s rich heritage of revolutionaries that fought valiantly to win freedom for their people to galvanise the people not to be held back by yesterday’s challenges and failures. The revolutionary struggles of Marcus Garvey, Alexander Bedward and Leonard Howell - all heroes of the war against subjugation - were

chronicled in the book with not just patriotic fervour but in a manner to evoke their valiant spirit.

The inspiring and heroic exploits of the Maroons who formed independent communities as free men and women well before the abolition of slavery as well as the Morant Bay Rebellion of 1865 when freedmen rose in violent protest against laws that prevented from voting through high poll taxes, and their living conditions that had worsened following crop damage by floods, cholera and smallpox epidemics, and a long drought were also dispassionately analysed.

‘Too Black to Succeed: the FINSAC Experience’ is a very well referenced book about Jamaica’s history and how this history has influenced the experiences of her peoples from European conquest to post FINSAC. Before becoming a English colony in 1655, the Caribbean island nation was first a Spanish colony and even

though the territory was formally ceded to the English in 1670 five years after Spanish colonists were defeated by invaders from England, vestiges of its history with Spain are still prominent. Alongside English and Patois, Spanish is also spoken in Jamaica.

The transition from Spanish to English was the period the quest for freedom inspired the chain of rebellion that birthed the Maroons that successfully emerged as free and independent communities.

Author, educator and entrepreneur, Dixon’s Too Black to Succeed - The FINSAC Experience opens the way for healthy discussion and analysis, outside of partisan politics and allows her country men to hear the compelling voice and views of a Jamaican, from the perspective of a committed citizen, educator and entrepreneur.

For a former British colony and a country made up essentially of freed slaves, the book evokes memories of its rich heritage of revolutionaries that fought valiantly to win freedom for their people.

(Concluded)

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